Stop Putting the Pay Gap on Latinas – We are not the Problem

This week, as the country observes the National Latina Equal Pay Day of Action on December 8 ^th, it is imperative we get a couple of facts straight. First off, this is not a holiday.

It is an obligation to highlight - in shame – the vastly unequal pay that Latinas receive. In 2020 Latinas were paid just 49 cents to the dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic male workers, which is why Latina Equal Pay Day is being observed so late this year.

Second, people get the data wrong every single year, and while it can be confusing, a little fact checking goes a long way (more on that below). Lastly, but not least, every single year Latinas face gas lighting when well-meaning people say Latinas are part of the problem because they should have picked different jobs, chosen different career paths, negotiated better, taken better control of our finances, etc, the list goes on. The people who blame Latinas are woefully misguided.

Let’s be clear. The reason that we observe Latina Equal Pay Day every year is because employers of all kinds are not paying Latinas equitably, and they all need to be called out. No matter what way the data is sliced and diced, Latinas working in every sector and in every industry, regardless of education level, are being paid dramatically less than their white male counterparts.

Fifty-four cents to the dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic male workers was the average for all Latinas with reported earnings in 2021. For the first time this number includes hourly workers, seasonal migrant workers, and gig-economy workers. The number is a slight increase from 2020’s dismal data of 49 cents to the dollar, but it is still drastically unequal.

Whether it is because decisions have been made to deliberately discriminate against Latinas, because implicit bias has impacted pay decisions, or because employers are using prior discriminatory salaries to set a Latina worker’s current pay ( note: this is against the law in some states!), the reality is that it is not the fault of Latinas that they have been so immensely underpaid.

While businesses have stepped up in their favorite ways by establishing training programs to teach Latinas how to negotiate better, make better choices, advocate for themselves or act savvier, if this is the only thing businesses take away for Latina Equal Pay Day, they are missing the point.

These education and training programs are great to be sure, but let’s be very clear – there is nothing in these initiatives that will make an employer decide to do right by Latinas. And what’s worse, most people who are underpaid do not even realize it.

Even if a Latina is aware that she is being underpaid, the onus should not be on her to fix it. The labor to make it right should not lie on her shoulders or belong to a whole contingent of workers who have been discriminated against for decades. Employers are legally obligated not to discriminate against workers because of gender, race, or ethnicity in most cases under federal law, depending on the number of people the business employs. Employers should not be motivated to do the right thing only because the law requires it.

It’s the right thing to do and it makes the most economic sense. Savvy business executives know when an employee is valued and treated fairly, it has a positive impact on their work, thus yielding better results for the employer.

There is nothing that Latinas could have “done better” to avoid the massive losses they experienced in 2020. In fact, that data set showed that the 49 cents Latinas were paid to every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men was the widest gap seen in the past decade. Why? More Latinas were pushed out of the labor market during the COVID pandemic because they got sick, had increased caregiving responsibilities and because they worked in jobs that did not provide the kind of benefits, as well as the support, needed to be able to keep their jobs while taking care of sick family members and trying to survive the pandemic themselves. In fact, more Latinas were pushed out of the labor market than any other demographic during that time resulting in the huge dip.

Many Latinas have since been able to return to the workforce, which is good news, but what cannot be forgotten is that it was not their fault they were pushed out in the first place.

This Latina Equal Pay Day there will be folks who will say that Latinas need to ask for more money and better advocate for themselves if they want to get paid better. They are wrong. Employers need to do better and so do our political leaders.

How? Congress needs to pass stronger laws, like the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. State legislatures need to pass pay equity bills and other laws that directly impact the career-long pay gap that Latinas experience. And employers need to take actions to ensure that they are following the law. They should check their bias and create protocols to determine whether bias is impacting their decisions about pay, opportunities for training and advancement for Latinas and all their workforce. It will yield returns for the employer and the working Latinas who make these businesses prosperous.

As for Latina workers, things that we could do for our own professional growth, include learning to negotiate so that we will feel more in control of our own financial circumstances and get training on the things that will help us be better prepared for our jobs to feel more fulfilled in our careers. We should do these things if we want to do them for ourselves, not because we need to take on the responsibility that employers already bear.

Latinas are already holding up families, workplaces, and communities. We are doing our job. It is not also our job to ensure that we get paid fairly and equitably. It’s time for others to do their jobs as well.

Mónica Ramírez is an attorney, author, and activist fighting for the rights of farmworkers, migrant women workers and the Latine(x) community. She is the founder of Justice for Migrant Women and co-founder of The LatinX House and Poderistas. Mónica has helped lead the national Latina Equal Pay campaign on behalf of the Equal Pay Today Coalition! since 2015.