This week two ephemeris came together to highlight still unanswered demands for Hispanic somen in the United States and women in Latin America. World Entrepreneurial Women’s Day and, in the United States, Latina Equal Pay Day reminded us that women are still at a disadvantage compared to men in their workplaces and when it comes to starting a business of their own.
Employees
The #LatinaEqualPayDay campaign took place on November 20. Until that day, Latina women in the U.S. had to work the eleven months of 2019 and the entire previous year to catch up with what white men earned only in 2018.
Using this data from a study by the Economic Policy Institute, Survey Monkey, LeanIn.org and Unidos.Us presented a joint report that underpinned this year’s campaign.
Survey Monkey is a pollster; Lean In advocates for women’s equality and inclusion, especially in the workplace; and Unidos.Us assists the U.S. Hispanic community in civil rights and civic engagement, immigration, workforce, education, economics, health and housing.
According to their report, on average, Hispanic women in the United States were paid 45.5% less (54.47 cents for every dollar) than white men and 31% less than white women. To arrive at these data, Lean In relied on a study by the Institute for Women Policy Research.
“No matter what their job, where they live, or how much education or experience they have, Latinas are still paid less than white men,” the report’s presentation said.
According to Unidos.Us, there are about 11 million working Latinas in the United States.
The pay gap is greater (37%), says the study of the three organizations, when women have a higher level of education.
On the other hand, the data also indicates that for every 100 men promoted to managerial positions, only 68 Hispanic women are promoted.
“Despite entering the workforce in record numbers (…) and contributing so much to their families, communities and the national economy, Latinas still bear the brunt of unequal pay, limited access to paid sick time and paid family and medical leave, and discrimination,“ Janet Murguía, president of Unidos.Us, says.
“And it’s not because Latinas are not doing their part. They ask for promotions and raises at higher rates than white men, but they get worse results,” the report published on the Lean In website adds.
Between October 25 and 29 of this year, Survey Monkey and Lean In conducted a survey of 5,960 adults living in the United States, which found that one out of every three people consulted are unaware of this wage gap between Latina women and white men.
““Latinas know what they need, and their voice is clear on the importance of strong policies that would help close the wage gap. Ending the lack of awareness starts with listening to Latinas and to other women, and supporting policies that reward hard work, expand economic security, and help bolster the national economy,” said Janet Murguía.
Entrepreneurs
On the other hand, the latest report on the State of Latino Entrepreneurship, which Stanford University makes since 2015, states that Latina women own 25% of the businesses run by Hispanics, with an annual growth of 10%, which 4% more than businesses run by Latino men. Hispanic women’s companies generate $66 billion in annual sales and employ 600,000 people.
However, when looking at comparative details by gender, the report found that Latino men are more likely to own scaled businesses than women (12% versus 4%); women are more likely to own microbusinesses (64% versus 36%); and men are more likely to receive certifications for their businesses (24% versus 19%).
The biggest differences appear, according to the report, when looking at each other’s revenues, profits and personal income. “Men generate three times more business revenue, almost twice as much profit, and more than twice as much in personal income” than Latina women business owners.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, as Irene Arias, general manager of the IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank writes, “only 1% of women entrepreneurs have access to angel investors, seed capital and venture capital funds, the three sources of financing that can allow a business idea to become a reality. In contrast, 7% of men get this kind of capital”.
Reconciling family and personal life and continues to be a pending task for women to have a position of greater leadership in entrepreneurship. According to Arias, women in the region are not only prone to finance their startups with personal resources and from their closest friends and relatives, as opposed to men, who have access to “more diverse sources”, but they have more impediments to devote time to their business because of “the care of the family and household tasks”. Men, on the other hand, find it easier to devote themselves full-time “to building the networks of contacts necessary to carry out their project.”
“If we want to change the statistics it is necessary to increase and diversify women’s access to sources of financing, promoting not only the search for financial capital, but also intelligent capital, and greater trust in mentors, private investors and business networks. Women entrepreneurs should also be more exposed to academic environments and international experiences that could make a difference in the growth rate of their businesses and their ability to create quality connections,” Arias suggests.