Page 5 - Latinas Powering Forward Whitepaper

Latinas Powering Forward

In terms of challenges, Latinas have much to contend with, including:

• Pay Inequity
Latinas make only 54 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic White men. While one would expect
that education would alleviate some of the imbalance, Latinas with an advanced degree fare the worst
with three times the pay gap when compared to those without a high school degree. Education alone does
not address the problem; it will take real systemic change to realize their wealth potential.

• Lagging in Healthcare
Latinas and their families are less likely to get the healthcare they need due to cultural barriers, limited
access to affordable healthcare and insufficient information. Among non-elderly adults in 2017, 25% of
Hispanics had no health insurance over the past year, compared to 8% of non-Hispanic Whites.

• Lack of Representation in Media
While trends show significant Latina growth, traditional media has not followed the trend. The percentage
of top-grossing films with major Latina characters reached 7% in 2017 only to fall again to 4% in 2018. Lati-
nas filled less than a dismal 1% of industry roles as directors and producers in the top 1,200 most popular
films over the past 12 years. Film and content lead the cultural conversation, and Latinas are being left out.

These fast-moving trends present new opportunities for companies and organizations to respond to the cultural
transformation that Latinas will be leading for years to come. There is no one more powerful than the Latina voter,
the Latina consumer or the Latina businesswoman. It is essential to know who Latinas are, what they represent and
where they are going. Opening doors to them today will have lasting value as they scale to a more influential and
prosperous future.

We use the terms Hispanics and Latinos interchangeably. In this paper, Hispanic women are often referred to as
Latinas. Women of color refers to ethnic women of all backgrounds, including Latinas.

NOTE: Most of the demographic data in this report is based on 1-Year estimates from the U.S. Census American Community
Service (ACS) for 2017, 2010 or 2000. Demographic data includes characteristics of a population including race, ethnicity, gender,
age, education, profession, occupation, income level, and marital status. All data from other sources is referenced by footnote.
If there is no footnote, the data is from ACS.

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