Two days ago, nearly 23 months after the start of 2018, the average Latina woman in the US finally earned what a white man earned in a year.
That’s because Latina women were paid barely half of what a white man was in 2017 – earning 53 cents to every white man’s dollar. That pay gap has also widened at an alarming rate: in 2016, Latina women were paid 67 cents to every white man’s dollar.
When you lump all women from all demographics in together, they collectively have to work up until 2 April 2019 before they earn as much as white men did in 2018 (the equivalent of four extra months).
Native American women earn 58 cents to every dollar earned by a white man; black women earn 61 cents for every dollar. White women and Asian women in the US are a little closer, earning 77 cents and 85 cents, respectively.
Research suggests that this gap persists for Latina women regardless of their education, experience or where they live.
What’s more, research by the Institute for Women’s Policy suggests that at the current rate of (non-)improvement, it will be 205 years before Latinas get pay equity in the US.
Let me spell that out for you: this would mean Latina women can’t expect to earn as much as white men until 2224.