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Latinas aren’t paid fairly—and that's just the tip of the iceberg

Get the facts about the pay gap for Latinas.

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The pay gap

Latinas are paid less than white men and white women

On average, Latinas in the U.S. are paid 46% less than white men and 26% less than white women.1

The pay gap by gender and race

How it works

The pay gap starts early

From age 16, Latinas are paid less than white boys the same age—and the gap only grows from there.2

The pay gap by age

The pay gap widens for educated Latinas

Latinas are going to college at higher rates than ever before.3 But education doesn’t eliminate the pay gap. In fact, the gap is largest for Latinas with a bachelor’s degree, who earn 31% less than white men on average.

The pay gap by education level4

Even in the same job, Latinas get paid less

Many people assume that Latinas face a pay gap because they're concentrated in lower-paying roles. But even in the same job, Latinas are paid less than white men. For example, Latina nurses earn 25% less than white men nurses, on average.5

The pay gap by occupation6

Did you know?

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans is not aware of the pay gap between Latinas and white men.7

Latinas are asking for more

Latinas ask for promotions and raises at similar rates to white men—yet the "broken rung" still holds them back at the first critical step up to manager. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 75 Latinas are promoted.8

Share of employees negotiating for promotions and raises in the last year9

Why it matters

The average Latina loses out on over a million dollars

The pay gap is not about a single paycheck. Over the course of the average Latina’s career, the lost income adds up to over a million dollars compared to white men.10

Average income lost over a lifetime due to the pay gap11

Did you know?

The pay gap widens the wealth gap: how much Latinas are worth or own. The average Latina’s net worth is less than 1% of the average white man’s.12

Families are on the front line

The pay gap is even worse for Latina mothers: they earn 53% less than white fathers.13 When Latinas are paid less, they have less money for basic family necessities like rent, groceries, and school supplies. Over time, this impacts families’ ability to invest in savings, higher education, or property.

The pay gap for Latina mothers

Did you know?

There is a stereotype that Latinas are domestic and not ambitious in their careers, which can make employers assume they don’t want to or expect to be paid well14—despite being on average about as ambitious as white men.15

The pay gap is just the tip of the iceberg

Latinas face a double-edged sword of sexism and racism in the workplace: As women, Latinas are stereotyped as less competent than men, and as Latinx Americans, Latinas are stereotyped as less intelligent than white people.16 Researchers believe that bias is to blame for over half of the pay gap for Latinas.17

To combat bias against Latinas at work, try Lean In’s 50 Ways to Fight Bias program, which features new cards that address the unique experiences of Latinas.

Explore 50 Ways

Latinas deserve fair pay.
It’s time to close the gap.

Other Resources

Lean In Latinas: A Lean In Network

Lean In Latinas provides a platform of encouragement and support for Latinas in the workplace to achieve higher levels of performance. Start or join a Circle in this Network.

Women are paid less than men—and that hits harder in an economic crisis.

On average, women in the U.S. are paid 16% less than men. Get the facts about the gender pay gap and how it impacts women and families.

Allyship in the workplace: Where white employees are falling short

Most white employees see themselves as allies to people of color at work—but most Latinas disagree.

Footnotes

  1. Jessica Mason, National Partnership for Women and Families, personal communication, September 2022. The data for women of different races and ethnicities is calculated including women who worked part time or part of the year. The number for all women is based only on women who worked all year long, all year round. When you include workers who worked part-time or part of the year, you get numbers that are more inclusive and accurate because they captures 33 million additional working women, including many lower-income workers who reduced their hours or worked part of 2020 due to the pandemic.
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Weekly and hourly earnings data from the Current Population Survey” (August 2021), https://data.bls.gov/PDQWeb/le.
  3. National Center for Education Statistics, “Indicator 19: College Participation Rates” (February 2019), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_REA.asp.
  4. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Weekly and hourly earnings data from the Current Population Survey” (August 2021), https://data.bls.gov/PDQWeb/le.
  5. The U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement: Table PINC-06: Wage and Salary Workers—People 15 Years Old and Over by Total Wage and Salary Income, Work Experience, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex (retrieved March 18, 2021), https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-pinc/pinc-06.2019.html.
  6. Ibid.
  7. This SurveyMonkey/LeanIn.Org poll was conducted online from October 25 to 29, 2019, among a total sample of 5,690 adults age 18 and over living in the United States. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is +/- 2 percentage points, and for Latinas +/- 7 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.
  8. LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, Women in the Workplace 2022 (October 2022), https://womenintheworkplace.com/.
  9. LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, Women in the Workplace 2020 (October 2019), https://womenintheworkplace.com/.
  10. National Women’s Law Center, “The Lifetime Wage Gap, State by State” (March 2021), https://nwlc.org/resources/the-lifetime-wage-gap-state-by-state/.
  11. Ibid.
  12. Heather McCulloch, Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap: What It Is, Why It Matters, and What Can Be Done About It (January 2017), https://womenswealthgap.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Closing-the-Womens-Wealth-Gap-Report-Jan2017.pdf.
  13. Jasmine Tucker, “The Wage Gap Shortchanges Mothers,” National Women’s Law Center (August 2022), https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Moms-EPD-8.30.2022.pdf.
  14. Ruta Yemane and Mariña Fernández-Reino, “Latinos in the United States and in Spain: The impact of ethnic group stereotypes on labour market outcomes,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 47, no. 6 (2021), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1622806.
  15. LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, Women in the Workplace 2019, unpublished data.
  16. In one study, Latinas were rated less competent and less worthy of hiring than any other racial or ethnic group of women; see https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/07/new-study-finds-discrimination-against-women-and-racial-minorities-hiring-sciences
  17. Kate Bahn and Will McGrew, “The intersectional wage gaps faced by Latina women in the United States,” Washington Center for Equitable Growth (November 1, 2018), https://equitablegrowth.org/the-intersectional-wage-gaps-faced-by-latina-women-in-the-united-states/.