Latinas stand to lose more than $1.2 million over their careers due to the pay gap — and for Latinas with college degrees, that gap is even wider.
The wage gap shortchanges Latinas with professional degrees nearly $2.5 million over the span of a 40-year career, compared to white, non-Hispanic men with similar educational attainment, according to a new analysis by the National Women's Law Center (NWLC).
Latinas have to earn at least a master's degree to be paid more than white, non-Hispanic men who have just an associate's degree, the NWLC found.
This year, Latina Equal Pay Day falls on Oct. 5, marking the symbolic date to which Latinas have to work — almost 22 months— to catch up to what their white male co-workers earned in 2022 alone.
In 2022, Latinas working full-time were paid approximately $0.57 for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men, the NWLC reports — when part-time workers are included in the comparison, Latinas only made 52 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men in 2022. That pay gap translates to a staggering loss of $30,450 per year.
The ongoing pay disparity that Latinas face has hardly budged within the last 34 years. In 1989, Latinas working full-time were paid just $0.52 for every dollar paid to white men — which means that the Latina pay gap has only narrowed by pennies every decade since.
How salary negotiations can exacerbate the wage gap
For many Latinas, the wage gap starts as early as the job search.
Priscilla Guasso spent nearly 20 years working in human resources at large companies like Hyatt Hotels and CDW — and no matter where she worked, she noticed the same pattern repeated itself: Latinas almost never asked for higher starting salaries or negotiated their job offers.
"In Latino culture, there's a strong emphasis on respect for authority figures, so when you're starting out in your career, it's difficult to speak up, even if you feel you're being underpaid, because it feels like you're going against everything you were taught … which is to be humbled and grateful, no matter what," Guasso, 40, explains. "But you won't get more money by being subservient."
In some cases, Guasso says she's seen Latinas leave "$10,000-$50,000 on the table" by not negotiating their initial offer.
Guasso left her corporate career in 2020 to launch Latinas Rising Up in HR, an organization that aims to recruit and support more Latinas working in HR, which in turn, Guasso hopes, can help close the wage gap.
Many Latinas start at a deficit when it comes to their earning power because they are first-generation college graduates and don't have close relatives, or mentors, to coach them through the job search or salary negotiations, says Anyelis Cordero, a leadership coach and HR consultant who has helped dozens of Latinas negotiate their salaries.
Latinos are more likely to be first-generation college students than any other racial or ethnic group — and, what's more, research shows that first-generation college graduates are more likely to accept offers that pay less than their peers.
"If you don't have a clear understanding of how much you should be getting paid, you're more likely to blindly accept the first offer you're given," says Cordero, 39. "It's not just a matter of if Latinas are negotiating their salaries … how they're doing it has consequences, too."
Sponsorship and the 'broken rung'
One of the biggest barriers curbing Latinas from advancing in their careers and earning a fair, equitable wage is a lack of sponsorship.
Latinas are still underrepresented in corporate America, making up only 1% of C-suite executives at companies in the U.S., according to new research from Lean In and McKinsey & Co.
What's more, a "broken rung" at the first critical step up to manager is still holding Latinas back from earning more money — for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 76 Latinas are promoted, Lean In and McKinsey & Co. found.
"It's important to have mentors but to ensure that Latinas get these stepping-stone jobs and break the pay gap, they need sponsors, too," says Guasso.
Jasmine Vallejo has spent nearly her entire career in tech, most recently working at Meta as a public policy manager before she lost her job in May 2023.
Earlier in her career, Vallejo was offered the chance to transition from a contractor to a full-time role at a big tech firm in Austin, Texas.
Before she accepted the offer, one of her white, male co-workers, who had similar work experience and responsibilities — but had a full-time role with benefits — told Vallejo how much he was earning.
"He was making several thousand dollars more than me, and we essentially had the same job," Vallejo, 34, says. "The only difference was, I was a contractor."
That same co-worker coached Vallejo through her salary negotiation for the new role, and she got a substantial raise as a result. "Having someone at the company vouch for me, especially in a male-dominated industry like tech, made a world of difference," says Vallejo, who now works as a freelance external affairs and community engagement leader.
These relationships — and conversations — Guasso stresses, are the best strategies for helping Latinas achieve equal pay.
"You need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, whether it's casting aside feelings of guilt for having higher salary expectations, or, if you work with Latinas, share information and make it clear that you're there to support and champion them," she says. "The pay gap is a complex problem, but we need more than good intentions to solve it."
Want to earn more and land your dream job? Join the free CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. ET to learn how to level up your interview and negotiating skills, build your ideal career, boost your income and grow your wealth. Register for free today.
Check out:
Latinas lose $1.2 million over their careers due to the pay gap—here's what needs to change
This 30-year-old got $15K more when she negotiated her salary—here's the exact script she used
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