Hispanic workers continue to make significantly less than white workers

Hispanic people now make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, but compared to their white counterparts, they are still largely disadvantaged when it comes to wages.

Since 2000, the wage gap between Hispanic workers and their peers has remained practically unchanged: Hispanic men working full time made 14.9% less in hourly wages in 2016 compared to white men (compared to 17.8% in 2000) and Hispanic women made 33.1% less than white counterparts (compared to 35.1% in 2000). The gap varies largely within the Hispanic community depending on a number of factors, Marie Mora, co-author on the study and professor of economics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley said.

“It’s clear that Hispanic workers still lag behind their white peers in many regards,” said Mora. “But it’s important to point out that Hispanic workers are not a homogeneous group. This analysis shows clear differences based on factors like where Hispanic workers are from, how educated they are, and how long their families have lived in the United States.”

These variations also depend on nationality, with Mexican workers making 14.1% less than white men, Puerto Rican men making 11% less, and Cuban workers making 16.9% less than white men in hourly wages. Women of Puerto Rican and Cuban origins experienced financial gains in their wages compared to white men from 2000, with a decrease from 32.4% in 2000 to 24.7% in 2016 for Puerto Rican women, and from 39.1% in 2000 to 24.1% in 2016 for Cuban American women.

Hispanic women face unique struggles when it comes to the wage gap, the study showed. While Hispanic men see a wage gap due to a number of factors, including education, experience, and immigration status, women still see a wage gap when the data is adjusted for these factors. That suggests that Hispanic women are paid less due to gender and racial discrimination alone, according to the study.

“That is consistent with what we have seen working with Latina women in various workplaces: that discrimination is alive and well and is impoverishing many Hispanic workers,” Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, a non-profit women’s rights group said. She noted that women also face sexual harassment in the workplace, which can come with a host of additional economic effects.

The types of jobs mostly held by Hispanic workers also make a difference in pay, the study noted. College-educated Hispanic full time workers face more discrimination than high-school educated hourly employees, compounding the gap in earnings between Hispanic college graduates and white college graduates.

Researchers said many college-educated Hispanic people lack the social networks to procure employment. “These favored social networks provide college-educated white workers with greater job mobility than college-educated minority workers, and thus provide an advantage in securing higher pay,” they said.

Although the share of Hispanic people with bachelor’s degrees has risen over the past four decades, the Hispanic-White “college attainment” gap has remained the same. Some 40% of white men have college degrees compared to just 16.4% of Hispanic men. Many Hispanic people are held back by the college education system, a 2017 study from Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce found. These represent changes that need to be made to close the gap further, said Alberto Dávila, the dean of the Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University said.

“There are many causes for concern in this analysis, but there are some reasons to be optimistic,” he said. “For example, Hispanic workers clearly place value on education and Hispanic education attainment is growing—but we need to make sure that Hispanic Americans have access to high quality, affordable education.”