As a Latina, I'm paid 54 cents of every dollar a white man earns. That's infuriating.
There's no reason I should earn just over half of what a white man does for doing the same job.
I am a Latina, a writer, a sister, a friend. And I get paid 54 cents on every dollar a white man earns for doing the same exact job as me.
To put that in perspective, I, an average Latina woman, would not see equal pay with white men until 2248 (232 years from now) if the current inequality trends continue.
In 2015, full-time female workers made only 80 cents for ever dollar a man earned. Latinas also made at least 24 cents less than their female, non-minority counterparts, too. That hurts.
Say what? Image via iStock.
This is all according to a report released just in time for Latina Equal Pay Day, celebrated on Nov. 1, 2016. The report was both surprising and frustrating. Twitter's response to the new stats was even more shocking.
The tweets were fast and furious. Latinas (myself included) were all too eager to chime in on the incredibly unfair pay gap between a white man and a Latina woman.
Using the hashtag #LatinaEqualPay, women from all over the world are talking candidly about this issue of income inequality in the Latino community.
Their comments bring to light the incredible wage gap that exists not only between men and women, but also between women and women of color as well.
Here are nine tweets that drive the point home in a powerful way:
1. There were cries of anger. Can you blame us?
2. These statistics by Voto Latino = ouch!
3. We're not asking for any favors. It's quite simple.
4. Even elected politicians like Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California) weighed in on the huge pay gap.
5. As well as longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), also representing the Golden State.
6. For those who think visually, this chart is, well, off the charts!
7. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) also chimed in.
8. So many of us are about this life, Daniella!
9. One word: solidarity. We're all in this together!
Of course we don't expect things to change overnight. But they do need to change.
Perhaps reading these statistics out loud or seeing these numbers and charts will remind everyone how unfair the wage gap is for minority women.
And as one tweet pointed out, we're not looking for a handout. We just want to earn the same (not more, not less) as any man who is doing the same job.
We know the world is not fair, but that doesn't mean we can't take the necessary and much-needed steps towards making things a little more balanced, no matter how long it takes.