When judged against 14 key measures,
California currently ranks as the second place for a woman to achieve economic
security. Most women are able to find paid family leave, paid sick leave and
great early childhood education. While this may sound like an ideal situation,
not all women benefit from the state of California.
Hispanic women, making up 17% of the
state or roughly 6.6 million individuals, make only 44 cents to every dollar a
white man makes. Non-Hispanic women in California as a whole make 84 cents to
every white man’s dollar, which is well above the national average for women at
77 cents to the dollar. Hispanic women are the lowest paid population, of any
race, in any state. This is a problem as the number of Latinos in California
surpassed non-Hispanic whites this March.
One reason for such a discrepancy is
that the types of jobs Hispanic women are working are not in high paying
industries nor are they known for lucrative earning potential. Another reason
is the legal status of these women. Unfortunately, because
these women are illegal immigrants, they are working in the shadows, agreeing
to work at any rate they are offered because they are undocumented.
This is rather unfortunate but it might be because these women also do not have the qualifications they need to get the income they need. If literacy was a priority for Hispanic women maybe the issue will be a lot different. I understand there are other circumstances and not everyone can afford education. But in order to end this trend, education is a good first step
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