Latina Pay Equity
Latina Pay Equity was not something I learned about until I was a fresh college graduate in my first job. I was the first one in my family go to college and therefore the first one in my family to get a “professional job”. I had no clue that pay equity was a thing or that on average as Latinas we are paid 46% less than White men and 26% less than White women1. Before graduating from college, I had held other jobs (think McDonalds, Macy’s, and other such places) but in these jobs no one ever talked about pay.
The summer after graduation I was lucky to find a paid internship which gave me a couple extra months to get my sh** together and get my parents off my back for a couple extra weeks but even then, it was a stressful time. So, when I finally landed a job of course I said yes –without ever questioning the salary.
Since graduating from college, I have been able to triple my salary in less than ten years. I will not say that it was easy and that it hasn’t required learning, failing, and some challenges along the way but if I had to do it all over again, I would only aim to do things better. My younger self did not know that pay gaps existed and thought that she was going to get what she deserved. Guess what? If you don’t ask for things, you will never get what you want. Today as a twenty-nine-year-old Latina making a six-figure salary I am here to share the top three lessons that I have helped me learn to ask for my worth.
1. Negotiate your Salary
ALWAYS negotiate your salary! As a Latina college graduate, I thought I was lucky to have landed the job I did. I was employed by a good company, I had benefits, and best of all my commute wasn’t that bad for Los Angeles.
Now about the salary, I knew I was not making a lot but I also knew that I should appreciate the opportunity because everyone in family kept on reminding me of how lucky I was. Oh, how I wish I could go back and talk to my younger self. I was a fresh college grad making a whopping 35k per year! It was more money than I had ever made in my life but as I slowly learned it was nowhere near enough.
According to the Leanin org as a graduate with a bachelor’s degree, Latinas make 31% less than white men1. This is the largest gap across education levels which is crazy because many of us have been told than education will lead to a better salary. Now I am still very glad I went to college BUT education alone does not eliminate any pay gaps.
I personally didn’t start negotiating my salary until three job offers ago, meaning I accepted three job offers without any negotiating. I was afraid of possibly losing the opportunity and was also scared of the negotiating process. It took me some time and courage, but I am now a huge advocate of always negotiating. For my current role I was able to negotiate over a 10% increase after being told that there was no room for an increase. Imagine the money I would have left on the table if I didn’t ask for an increase! I will talk more about my negotiating tips in future blog posts so keep an eye out for that!
2. Talk about Pay
I grew up being told that it was not great to talk about money, that it was not tasteful. I am not sure if this is something that is only limited to the Latino culture, but it is something that so many of us must start getting over. Now I am not telling you to go and advertise your salary on Instagram or Facebook, I don’t do that either but instead I do talk about my salary with my close group of friends and mentors. I especially leaned on my mentors when negotiating my current job position as they were more aware of what a fair salary would look like.
If you don’t have mentors or don’t feel comfortable sharing with others, I would start by completing an extensive salary search online on websites like Glassdoor.
3. Don’t be Afraid to Job Hop
I was able to increase my salary by over 35% after I finally decided to leave my first employer. From my own experience, I have learned that hopping from one company to another have led to the highest pay increases.
As Latinas we are often encouraged be loyal, sometimes I find myself falling into this mindset, but in the end, we must look out for ourselves and our family. The consequences of not acting on pay inequalities can equal to over a million dollars of lost income over a lifetime1. No one in my family has anywhere close to a million dollars but I would love to be the first if given the chance. Knowing what I know now this will only happen if I continue asking for my worth.
Latina pay equity is one of the reasons I decided to start this blog as pay should be a topic we talk about more, not just on Latina pay equity day. I want to help other Latinas & POC communities begin to learn more about their financial journey & hope you will join me on my blog!
Source:
1. “Get the Facts about the Pay Gap for Latina Equal Pay Day.” Lean In, https://leanin.org/data-about-the-gender-pay-gap-for-latinas#!