Latina Equal Pay Day Highlights a Vicious Cycle: COVID-19 and the Gender Wage Gap
Today, on Latina Equal Pay Day, we are encouraged to think critically about the gender wage gap and the challenges Latina women face in the labor market.
Today, on Latina Equal Pay Day, we are encouraged to think critically about the gender wage gap and the challenges Latina women face in the labor market.
Women should be paid as much as men for performing the same work. Workers should be able to discuss their salaries without fear of reprisal. Why isn't this already the case?
Latinas have made important strides in education, business creation, and political engagement. In recent decades, they have significantly increased their high school graduation rate and representation in teaching, law, medicine, and management professions. Yet in 2019, the average Latina earned only 55.4 percent of White non-Latino men’s earnings.
The pay gap between working women and men is one of the highest ranking concerns for women. It’s increasingly a priority for men—because when one earner in a family brings in less than she should, the family suffers overall.
Data collection is at the core of many efforts to enforce gender equity in the workplace. Federal laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 make sexual harassment and pay discrimination in the workplace illegal. However, gender-based discrimination persists, requiring state and federal agencies to develop policies to hold employers accountable for not protecting women workers.
We must do better for Native women by fighting for pay equity and domestic violence prevention and safety.
Notes: Estimates presented for All Women are based on [...]
American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women have made important advances socially, economically, and politically—they are starting their own businesses, getting elected to congress, and serving essential roles in their families and communities. Despite their efforts, they continue to face a range of obstacles to their and their family’s economic wellbeing and overall economic security.
Listen to the Radio Interview Due to the recession caused [...]
By Benjamin Laker Campaigns for equality are occurring in all [...]