Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 114
CHAPTER 151
Relative to Latina Equal Pay Day.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
August 30, 2022.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 114, Gonzalez.
Latina Equal Pay Day.
This measure would proclaim December 8, 2022, as Latina Equal Pay Day in California, in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, More than 50 years after the passing of the federal Equal Pay Act, women, especially women of color, continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, Latinas make 55 cents for every dollar a White male is paid; and
WHEREAS, Latinas are the fastest growing demographic, with 30.6 million Latinas making up 9.4 percent of the total United States population; and
WHEREAS, Twelve million two hundred thousand Latinas make up 7.4 percent of the United States’ labor force and are projected to represent 9.3 percent of the labor force from 2019 to 2029, inclusive; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 4 in 10 mothers are the primary breadwinners in their households, and nearly two-thirds of mothers are the primary or significant earners, making pay equity critical to the financial security of their families; and
WHEREAS, A lifetime of lower pay means women have less income to save for retirement and less income counted in a Social Security or pension benefit formula; and
WHEREAS, One in five people in the state of California is Latina; and
WHEREAS, Latinas earn 42 cents on the dollar compared to their White male peers in California; and
WHEREAS, Latinas in California would have to work until 116 years of age to earn what a White male earns by 60 years of age due to the wage gap; and
WHEREAS, The lifetime cost of the wage gap over a 40-year career for the average Latina in California is $1,787,640 compared to their White male peer; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Women’s Law Center, California’s Latina wage gap is ranked the highest at number 51 in the country, with a 58-cent gap; and
WHEREAS, Fair pay in California would strengthen the security of individuals and families today, regardless of education or socioeconomic status, while enhancing our statewide economy; and
WHEREAS, December 8 symbolizes the day in 2022 when the wages paid to Latinas catch up to the wages paid to White males from the previous year nationwide; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims December 8, 2022, as Latina Equal Pay Day in California, in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.