The gender pay gap has been a focus of discussions and legislative changes worldwide. One of the main problems is the disparity in pay between men and women in most countries, even when performing the same jobs. Despite this, the gender pay gap has narrowed significantly since the 1980s, but progress has been slow and has even reversed in the last two decades.
Along with Native American women, Latina women are among the lowest paid in the United States
All of this is without even considering that Hispanic women earn 58 cents for every dollar a white man earns. Therefore, significant progress has been made in reducing the gender pay gap in the United States. However, this progress has not been uniform across different groups of women. Along with Native American women, Latina women are among the lowest paid in the United States. To put it in perspective, they have to work 22 months longer to earn what men earn in 12.
New anti-immigration policies and the dismantling of those that level the playing field could exacerbate the situation
In any case, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the situation is different for women who work full-time. According to the Pew Research Center, the average wage for women aged 25 to 34 has risen from 74 cents for every dollar earned by a man in 1982 to 95 cents in 2024. Jasmine Tucker, vice president of research at the Pew Research Center, explains that there is a stalemate in addressing this inequality, and that new anti-immigration policies and the dismantling of those that level the playing field could exacerbate the situation.
Latinas still earn 29% less than non-Latino whites
According to figures from the feminist organization Lean In, the pay gap between Latinas and whites with a high school diploma is 22%, and this rises to 32% for those with a college degree. The agency’s data shows that, on average, women working full-time earned 81 cents for every dollar a man earned in 2024. This represents a decrease of three cents compared to two years prior. For those with an advanced degree, Latinas still earn 29% less than non-Latino whites, according to official data.
Explanation: men’s wages have been rising while women’s have stagnated
However, across all age groups, the average woman earns only 85% of what a man earns today, although this has increased from 65% during the same period. Jasmine Tucker, vice president of research at the National Women’s Law Center, told Forbes that the widening pay gap in recent years can also be explained by the fact that men’s wages have been rising while women’s have stagnated.
This calculation masks the fact that Argentinian, Panamanian, Chilean, and Costa Rican women earn more
According to the NWLC, the income losses resulting from this gap are worse for some women because this calculation masks the fact that Argentinian, Panamanian, Chilean, and Costa Rican women earn more—between 80 and 70 cents on the dollar, respectively—while Honduran women earn 46 cents and Guatemalan women only three cents more. “We’re seeing this outpacing of wage growth for men and almost no wage growth for women over the last two years, and that’s what’s contributing to the increasing wage gap,” Jasmine Tucker said.
In 2018, Latinas earned 54 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. Black women have been particularly affected by this widening wage gap, according to experts. Tucker points out that this trend, along with the number of women leaving the workforce, could be a warning sign of what lies ahead for the overall economy. Lean In reminds us that mothers are the primary breadwinners in half of the country’s households. Therefore, the situation warrants analysis, and necessary adjustments must be made to keep the economy functioning.