The year was 1928. Airplanes, already having proved their worth in WWI, were quickly becoming a fascination. Barnstorming daredevil pilots were putting on airshows across the country and Americans were in thrall of these new sky kings.

The previous year Charles Lindberg captured the country’s imagination when he flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean. But just months later, famed American aviatrix Amelia Earhart did it, too. But she was part of a crew. And that’s where this story begins. 

Earhart signed on to the flight with two men, pilot Wilmer Stultz and mechanic Louis Gordon. For the flight, Stultz would receive $20,000, Gordon $5,000. Earhart would be paid considerably less. 

In a new Earhart book, ‘The Showman and the Aviator,’ Earhart wasn’t happy about the arrangement but could not pass up the adventure. (Earhart would replicate Lindberg’s solo flight in 1932.)

A woman getting shortchanged for the same work, as Earhart apparently was, seems to be the American way. And there’s plenty of proof. For Latinas and women in general, it is also a daily reality.

At an October 8th forum on gender pay equity—Latina Equal Pay Day—at Denver’s Mi Casa Resource Center, 150 Latinas spoke up thoughtfully and forcefully about this historic economic disparity. And they brought the receipts. A few told stories about their own experiences with pay disparity. But there were also others who shared how they overcame this pattern.

According to LeanIn.org, a non-profit founded by philanthropist and writer Sheryl Sandberg, the pay gap between Latinas and White males remains an everyday reality.

According to the non-profit, Latinas earn 46 percent less than a White male. For every ten dollars earned by a White male, a Latina will earn only $5.40. A White female fares only slightly better, earning $7.30 for every ten dollars earned by a White male. 

Too often, the die for this pattern is cast early. From age 16-24, the pay gap separating Latinas from a White male is just nine percent. But as both groups age, the gap widens. 

From age 24-54 the gulf widens to 34 percent. And from age 55 and up increases to 42 percent. Even adding in the education variable where Latinas are participating at never-before-seen levels, there still exists the same paradigm. 

A Latina with an undergraduate degree will earn 31 percent less than a White male. The gap shrinks, for Latinas with a graduate degree, but only slightly. There the disparity is 27 percent. An example: For every $2,000 earned by a White male, a Latina with a similar degree will earn $540 less or $1,460.

Lily Griego, the former Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Services, spoke at the forum. While she ultimately found her way up the ladder, the climb was not without a few fits and starts. She also had the good fortune of having people who stood with her. “Work is a necessity,” said the retired federal executive. Griego wasn’t asking for the moon. “I just wanted what is fair.” 

As she began her work life—not in government—but in a job installing sprinklers, she learned her first lesson, that life is not always fair. It arrived with her paycheck. But she soldiered on. Griego would not remain in sprinklers and soon found herself working in government, local then county. It was there in her county job that she read a story in a local paper. It published county employee salaries.

“Two White men,” co-workers were making more than the two women in the same job. Her female colleague, a White woman, was also paid more. The pay disparity, she recalled, was explained as “tenure.”  But it went deeper than the amount on the paycheck, said Griego. “I was making less but paying more for (my) benefits,” her insurance. Digging deeper, looking ahead, only made her reality darker.

Retirement, which early in her career wasn’t an issue. Then she thought about it. “Women,” she realized, “live longer than men. I might have to work longer!” Suddenly “my sadness, my anger, into action.”

Unlike a lot of Latinas who either never get out of the wage disparity whirlpool or get out too late, Griego counts herself lucky. She had people who helped, bosses who became mentors. Her confidence, believing in herself also didn’t hurt. But while Griego found her own path, not everyone will be as fortunate.

A recent survey by Pew Research said that in just the last year, the pay disparity for Latinas actually increased. It went from 58 cents” on the dollar to 54 cents. But the long term, according to the National Women’s Law Center, also has its own issues. 

NWLC says over a lifetime pay disparity can morph into a ‘golden years’ condition. That is, women who are victims of working life pay disparity can conceivably lose more than a million dollars in lifetime earnings.

In 2021, Colorado’s ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work Act’ became law. It ensures all Colorado workers, especially women, are compensated equally. Among those behind the bill include state Senator Julie Gonzales and Representative Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez.

While it might seem elementary that pay fairness just makes sense, Gonzales said, passing the bill was more challenging than one might have expected. Much of the opposition to the bill, she said, was centered on an old argument. Critics called it ‘too much government interference with businesses that are doing their best.’ Or from opponents who cried that it ‘interfered’ with the free market.’  Gonzales and bill backers countered with a simple argument. “We have let the (free) market do what the market is going to do and that has resulted in Latinas making 50-plus cents on the dollar.”