From Latina Equal Pay Day to Hispanic Heritage Month, we have witnessed an all too familiar pattern take place this year: plenty of conversation and programming lifting up the Latine community without any real action to tackle enduring racial and economic inequality.
This is a dire moment for our community. Latine New Yorkers are living in poverty at more than twice the rate of white residents, per latest census data from last month. While deep poverty is rising drastically and incomes are dropping at staggering rates citywide, Latine households continue to be among the hardest hit by inflation and the cost of living crisis.
Hispanic household incomes trailed the median New York City household income by more than $20,000, according to a September 2023 analysis from the Center for New York City Affairs. Uncovering the real number of Hispanic families and children living invisibly in poverty creates even more cause for alarm.
Many point to record low unemployment as a sign that economic conditions are improving, but persisting racial gaps continue to be sadly overlooked. According to our July 2023 Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) report, in 2021, more than 17% of Hispanic households lived in poverty, compared to just 8% for white households. Racial wage gaps and occupation segregation remain two key factors for this lingering disparity.
Latinas continue to earn an abysmal 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. We are also disproportionately represented in jobs with lower wages, such as child care and social work, averaging a measly $23,196 per year. As rent and food prices soar, particularly in expensive cities like New York, the ability to cover one’s basic living costs is becoming increasingly difficult on these extremely low salaries.
To put this into perspective: between 2019 and 2022, while income inequality across New York City increased significantly more than the nation’s other largest 10 cities, Hispanic New Yorkers suffered the largest increase in poverty rates over any other racial or ethnic group.
Every year during Hispanic Heritage Month, companies, nonprofits, and politicians issue statements and organize events recognizing the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the history and culture of our country. Yet none of these efforts have substantially moved the needle on needed policies to combat persisting racial inequalities that keep our communities devalued and disenfranchised. Action is long overdue on addressing the racial and economic issues that prohibit Latines from reaching our fullest potential.
Latines have grown to be one of the largest and most powerful demographic groups in the United States. In 2022, Latines accounted for nearly one in five people in the country. Our vibrant and hardworking community generates enough GDP to rank as the 5th largest economy in the world, a large share of this coming from Latinas.
In fact, Latina-owned businesses generate an estimated $78.7 billion in revenue, per the National Women’s Business Council. Yet Latina founders receive less than 2% of venture capital funding. In recognition of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month theme, “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power and Progress in America,” it is high time that we work to close the wage, funding, and wealth gaps impacting Latine workers, business owners, and families. Pay equity must be realized.
In addition to advancing structural reforms like raising the minimum wage nationwide, we must redefine the way we measure need in this country. Too many hard-working Latines are falling through the cracks with unseen needs as a result of an antiquated and inaccurate poverty measurement system.
Current poverty measurements underestimate the true price tag of living with dignity and undercount actual need, thereby disqualifying families who are struggling from the critical supports often required to meet their basic needs. This has been a tough reality check for many Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rollback of government financial supports that kept many households afloat.
For Hispanic communities that are already historically placed at an economic disadvantage, the lack of this support can be especially detrimental, keeping many trapped in cycles of poverty and economic instability.
As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, we must renew our calls for a better system. A national true cost of living measure that captures the full picture of economic need in our nation can begin to bridge the economic gap for Latines not just in New York, but across the country. Current poverty measures leave millions of Americans, especially Latines, uncounted and unseen as they fight for economic stability for themselves and their families.
We must do better to ensure equitable compensation for the Hispanic community as we celebrate our many contributions to this nation. Latines are the true backbone of our society. We must regard them as such.
Rodriguez is the chief program & policy officer at FPWA.
Raysa S. Rodriguez
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