Amidst Pay Gap and a Looming Loss of Middle-Wage Jobs, Latinas Struggle for Economic Equality

While on average, women are paid less than men, Latinas are among the groups most overrepresented in low-paid jobs, which are projected to grow for the general U.S. female population as the opportunities to enter into middle-wage jobs will shrink.

According to Third Way, there will be a 97% drop in low or middle-wage jobs that do not require bachelor's degrees over the next decade. Additionally, the report said that over 60% of those lost jobs are middle-wage jobs, and 68% of people who will lose middle-wage jobs are women.

The study from Third Way found that the jobs that will go away the most are the middle-wage jobs, and instead, low-wage jobs will increase—47% increase in low-wage jobs and a 38% increase in middle-wage jobs.

Latinas Work The Low-Wage Jobs

Currently, Latinas comprise 8% of the workforce but are 15.9% of the low-paid workforce, according to a report from the National Women's Law Center report. Considering the data from Third Way, Latinas could feel the blunt force of a drop in middle-wage jobs for those without college degrees, diminishing their chances of working their way into a middle-wage job.

According to Third Way, people who move into high-paying jobs will have college degrees, but with the number of low-paying jobs growing, women will be the ones who are most likely to take them.

Looking at data from the National Women's Law Center, Latinas are disproportionately working in the lowest-paid jobs compared to women of other races. In addition to that, 38.9% of Latinas working full-time in low-paid jobs lived in or near poverty.

Latinas With Degrees and Pay Discrepancy Between Men

For Latinas, who, on average, have some of the lowest rates of college degrees, this could affect them even more. According to data from the Lumina Foundation, in 2021, 27.8% of Hispanics over 25 years old had college degrees, the second lowest group after Native Americans.

Although Latinos are among the groups with the lowest rate of college degrees, the future could be less bleak for Latinas, considering that a report from the Pew Research Center found that the rate of Hispanics earning graduate degrees has grown.

Regarding the discrepancy between pay per dollar, on average, Latinas are paid 57 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men. This pay gap amounts to a loss of $2,538 every month, $30,450 every year, and $1,218,000 over a 40-year career.