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Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) issued the following statement in recognition of Latina Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the year Latinas must work, on average, to earn as much as a white, non-Hispanic man earned the previous year:

“While today is an important reminder of the egregious Latina wage gap that exists, we know that gender-based pay discrimination is an issue that affects Latinas every day of the year, putting a strain on hard-working women and undermining the economic stability of our families.

“Despite the progress made in recent years to close the gender wage gap, today, Latinas earn on average only 54 cents for every dollar paid to men, taking them 11 additional months to earn what men earned in the previous year alone. This is unacceptable and more must be done to end this pay discrimination. The Republican-controlled Senate must act to fulfill the promise of equal pay for equal work for all Americans by finally passing the Paycheck Fairness Act so that all women in El Paso and across the country receive the equality and opportunities they deserve.”

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