Bloomberg Línea — Latino women residing in New York State earned only 0.58 cents for every dollar paid to a white man in 2021 and 0.82 cents for every dollar paid to a white woman, according to data from the Report on the Economic Status of Latinas conducted by the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) group.
The average weekly wage for a full-time worker in New York, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data from the third quarter of 2022, is $500, $2,000 per month without seasonal adjustment, and around $12.50 per hour.
Considering this data, a Latina woman loses out on $5.25 per hour, $210 per week or $840 per month, compared to the average wage. If this comparison is measured annually, the loss is $10,080.
According to HOPE, Latinas’ wages fall even further in New York City, where the largest Hispanic population is concentrated. There, women earn 0.45 cents for every dollar paid to a white man, two cents less than in 2010, the study notes.
Latinas working in NYC earn on average $12.05 per hour less, $482 per week and $1,928 per month less, or $23,000 a year less, compared with the average wage.
Latina presence in New York
According to data from the last census conducted in 2020, Hispanic women represent 10% of the entire population in New York City, and close to 20% of all women. In other words, one in four women in the city is Latina.
Despite the salary gap with white men, the report reveals that the percentage of Latinas earning more than $100,000 annually in New York City doubled from 2% to 4% between 2019 and 2021, while nationally it rose from 1% to 3%.
Similarly, the number of Latina-led businesses grew, by 11% between 2018 and 2020.
“Latina-owned businesses generate nearly 34,000 jobs, with an annual payroll of $1.2 billion,” the survey found.
Although there is a Latino presence across New York City, it is the Bronx where there is the largest number of Hispanics, representing 56.4% of that borough’s population, and which has increased 8% since 2010.
The wage gap in the US
The wage gap between Latinas and white men is nationwide. According to the National Women’s Law Center, Latinas have to work twice as hard to receive the pay of a non-Hispanic white worker for the same type of work. In other words, it will take a Latina 24 months to earn what a white man earns in 12 months.
The most recent data is from 2021 and indicates that Latinas working full time year-round were paid only 57 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men. Thus, women lose $2,477 per month at the national average.
However, this estimate does not include those women who were unemployed or worked part-time during the past year, with many doing so due to the pandemic and the loss of thousands of jobs.
Almost one in every five unemployed Latinas (19.1%) has been out of work for more than six months, and more than one in eight that work part-time (12.9%) do so involuntarily due to the impossibility of finding full-time work.
Disparity among Latinas by origin
Added to this situation is the more troubling disparity among Latinas by origin. For example, Honduran women earn $0.44, Guatemalan women $0.47 and Salvadoran women earn $0.49 for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.
Among the most “favored” are Argentine and Spanish women, with $0.82 earned for every dollar paid to a non-Hispanic white man, and Chilean women, with $0.75.
The Justice for Women organization states that non-Hispanic white men that work full- or part-time earn an average $50,624 per year, while Latinas working full- or part-time earn an average $25,312.