Latina Pay Day 2020: Fifty Years After the Passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Our Struggle is More Valid Than Ever

Yes, November is many months away, but it is never too early to talk about what is fair.

Every November we remember how every Latina had to work twice as hard to earn what a white man makes in a year. 

“No matter what their job, where they live, or how much education or experience they have, Latinas are still paid less than White men,” the Economic Policy Institute explained in 2017, referring to the “double pay gap” to which Latina women are subjected, which adds the ethnic pay gap to the gender pay gap.

It is clearly a double battle.

“On average, Latina workers are paid only 67 cents on the dollar relative to White non-Hispanic men, even after controlling for education, years of experience, and location,” added columnists Elise Gould and Adriana Kugler.

This difference implies a loss of about $25,177 a year, which, in sum, implies that Latina women must work 22 months to earn the same amount of money.

According to the National Women’s Law Center, Latinas must obtain a bachelor’s degree or more before their typical wages exceed those of white, non-Hispanic men without a bachelor’s degree.

At the same time, Latinas with a bachelor’s degree or more make $50,952 —  essentially the same as white, non-Hispanic men with some college but no degree ($1.01 for every $1), and Latinas with only an associate’s degree typically make less — by about $3,500 — than white, non-Hispanic men without a high school degree (90 cents for every dollar).

Since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the wage gap, while improving, persists.

Today, women working full-time in the United States still earn 79 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is only 20 cents more than in 1963.

And for Latinas, the change has not been substantial.

That’s why organizations like the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Justice for Migrant Women celebrate every November 20 the Latina Equal Pay Day, which this coming election year will feature a social media storm at 2:00-3:00 PM ET, according to equalpaytoday.org

“Indeed, given that this is the last ‘Equal Pay Day’ observance of the year, Latinas must typically work longer than… everyone,” says the campaign. “This disparity hurts not only Latinas, but also the families and communities they support. 

This is unacceptable. We need to act now and let everyone know that we support #LatinaEqualPay and we VOTE!”

Because fifty years is way too long.