Latina Equal Pay Day: Barragán, Leger Fernández Call for Action on Wage Gap

WASHINGTON — Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) and Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, introduced a resolution recognizing Oct. 8, as Latina Equal Pay Day and calling attention to the wage gap that shortchanges Latinas and their families. In 2025, Latinas with reported earnings were paid just 53 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.

More than six decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the wage gap persists across sectors and education levels. Latinas working full time, year round were paid just 60 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. The gap widens to 53 cents when including workers with part-time and part-year earnings.

The resolution recognizes how the wage gap hurts women, families, and the economy and reaffirms Congress’ support for equal pay and closing the gender wage gap. It also highlights barriers that contribute to the disparity, including a lack of affordable child care and paid family and medical leave, as well as workplace harassment.

“53 cents and 11 years after the first Latina Equal Pay Day, Latinas remain among the lowest-paid workers in the country. For more than a decade, LCLAA has stood shoulder to shoulder with trabajadoras, fighting wage theft, harassment, retaliation, and pay inequity, while championing solutions like good union jobs that deliver real, tangible economic security,” said Karla Pineda, Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). “As meaningful contributors in our homes, communities, and workplaces across every industry, we refuse to be overlooked, undervalued, and silenced. LCLAA has, is, and will continue to commit its efforts to help ensure that all workers– including working women in our comunidad– receive nothing short of what they deserve: dignity, equity, and the real opportunity to thrive rather than merely survive.”

Details: Find the resolution HERE.