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First observed in 1996, Equal Pay Day was established to symbolize the day each year when women's earnings catch up to what white, non-Hispanic men made the previous year. The date is usually different each year and in each country. In the U.S., Equal Pay Day in 2018 was April 10. Nearly 16 months.
For women of color the reality of equal pay is much more grim. For Black women in the U.S., Equal Pay Day was August 7. For Latina women, it was ... yesterday, November 1. A full 22 months.
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer issued a policy brief on this very issue earlier this week. As you can imagine, it wasn't pretty:
The wage gap for Latinas in New York City (51 cents) is larger than for Latinas in New York (44 cents) and Latinas in the U.S. (46 cents). If New York City were to observe its own local Latina Equal Pay Day, it would not be until January 16th, 2019.
I highlighted that last part for emphasis. That's 24 and a half months, if you're counting at home. What does that mean for career earnings, you say?
Over a 40-year career, the median full-time working Latina in New York City would lose on average $1.5 million in earnings due to the gender wage gap. She would have to work an additional 42 years, more than two careers over, to attain the same earnings as the median full-time employed white man.
My mother was one of these women. It's in part why we grew up in poverty. My apartment building was full of women like her. Latina women who worked long hours in one or multiple jobs just to try and stay afloat. To provide for their families. The most basic of parental desires. Other families had it harder than ours did, but yes, at times we also needed some help from federal programs like WIC and SNAP.
My mother tried to go back to school to add additional skills so she could get a better-paying job, but as with most women like her, she just didn't have the time or schedule flexibility to pull it off. Flexibility is not exactly the highlight of lower-paying jobs.
And while the wage gap cuts deeper when the salaries are lower to begin with, it also exists across the occupational spectrum. Again, from the Stringer brief:
Latina financial managers make roughly $100,000 annually compared to $225,000 for white men, or 45 cents for every dollar paid to white male financial managers, the highest-paying job title included in the analysis with average annual earnings of $166,000. On the other end of the income scale, Latina secretaries make 88 cents for every dollar paid to white male secretaries, a job title with average annual earnings of roughly $56,000.
So, what's to be done? Not just here in NYC, but in other parts of the country where these numbers are similar. Remember, the November 1st date for Latina pay equity is based on national data.
Stringer's policy brief includes some recommendations and both the Tech Talent Pipeline in NYC and the state's “If You Can See It, You Can Be It” initiative offer different ways of tackling this issue. But we have a long way to go to achieve overall pay equity, never mind for Black and Latina women.
This is not a problem that non-profit organizations alone can solve. This requires a commitment from our policymakers, our business community and, yes, from us. The benefits will help women, families and our economy.
Where do you think we should start?
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