Women of Color Receive Less Pay and Have Higher Levels of Pay Fluctuation between States, according to a New Report from Prosperity Now

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For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jennifer Baskerville
[email protected]

WASHINGTON (Sept. 18, 2023) - A new report released today by Prosperity Now finds that the racial and ethnic wage gap compounds upon the gender wage gap, leading women of color to receive less pay and more fluctuation between states.

The report by Prosperity Now's Research Associate Phoebe Flaherty, "Mapping the Wage Gap for Working Women of Color," analyzed data from the 5-year 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) to examine the size and consistency of the wage gap for women of different ethno-racial groups across the United States. The report considered the size of the wage gap for women from each ethno-racial group, using White men as the reference category. Among other findings, the report found that:

• Black and Hispanic women consistently earn lower wages than women from other ethno-racial groups.

• The wage gap for Black and Hispanic women is even wider in some states. For example, Black women in Louisiana earn just 49 cents to the dollar when compared to White men and Hispanic women in California earn just 44 cents to the dollar when compared to White men.

• Despite earning high relative wages at a national level, Asian American women have the highest wage volatility in the United States.

• Nationally, White women earn 79 cents to the dollar when compared to White men but experience more consistency from state to state than women of color.

"The data and research shared in this report sheds light on the ongoing disparity in wages. The racial/ethnic gender wage gap is a major obstacle to economic opportunity for women of color and creates unwarranted consequences such as occupational segregation, lower lifetime earnings, increased poverty, and a greater risk of financial instability. The report clearly shows the amount of work needed to recognize structural racial and gender barriers and to implement critical policies and solutions to achieve economic equity. Closing the racial wage gap means paying a fair, livable wage and increasing access to good jobs and higher wages - wages not based on gender, race, or ethnicity," said Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, Director of Policy at Prosperity Now, on the findings of the report.

To view the report, click here and for the executive summary, click here. For more information on Prosperity now, visit: prosperitynow.org.

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About Prosperity Now

Since 1979, Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) has been a persistent voice championing economic opportunity, innovating outside of and beyond existing systems to build power for all communities. We advance racial and ethnic economic justice by investing in bold new ideas, and we work deeply at both the grassroots and national level to impact the entire ecosystem. By setting goals for our economy and following through with targeted approaches based on need, we are equipped to drive forward and cement big structural solutions. Learn more at www.prosperitynow.org.