The Wage Gap is Shocking, and Latinas in Particular Suffer from it

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and while our thoughts may traditionally turn to “turkey, trimmings and time with family,” it’s important to acknowledge another important day.

November 20, 2019 is “Equal Pay Day” for Latinas, an acknowledgment of just how far into the year Hispanic women had to work to earn the equivalent of what white, non-Hispanic men earned the year before. Shocking? It should be.

As becomes obvious from the above infographic from the National Women’s Law Center, Asian women earn the closest to parity with white, non-Hispanic men, followed by white, non-Hispanic women, followed by Black women, Native American women, and last of all by Hispanic women.

Nationwide, more than 11 million Latinas are in the workforce, but they face the largest wage gap among women,, according to a fact sheet from Unidos US.

“Across the board, women of color are more likely than white women to be shunted into the lowest-earning occupations in the service sector and in sales and office jobs. This trend is particularly pronounced for Hispanic women. Among working women in 2014, 62% of Hispanics were…