Earning half for the same job and having the same education: the gap Latinas face in the U.S.

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1. The Theme to Highlight: The Wider Pay Gap

Latinas in the United States with a bachelor's degree face a wider wage gap to their non-Hispanic white male peers than other working Hispanic women, according to a recent analysis by the National Women's Law Center.

Overview: Usually having advanced studies is considered a step to have a better situation and economic stability. However, Latinas with a tertiary education are being paid less than white men with the same level of education — and in some cases even less than white men with less education.

• This week marks Latina Equal Pay Day, which represents the average day and month for which U.S. Hispanic women must work to earn the same as a non-Hispanic white man earned the previous year.
• That is, to have a salary equal to what they received in 2022, they had to work more than half of 2023 as well.

In numbers: In 2022, Latinas in the U.S. with a bachelor's or professional degree earned 59 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men with the same level of education according to the analysis of Census data.

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

• For Latinas without a high school diploma, the average was 62 cents earned for every dollar earned by white men, a gap that rose to 67 cents for every dollar earned by a man among Hispanic women who did graduate from high school.
• Latinas with an associate's degree or who had a college education but not yet a degree earned 66 cents for every dollar earned by a white man with that level of education.
• The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) estimates that highly educated Latinas do not earn nearly $2.5 million in lifetime income because of those gaps.
• That's especially true because even when Latinas earn high wages, they're more likely to have parents or family members who need financial help, according to NWLC experts.

In his own words: Contributing to the gap is that Latinas are more likely than their white male counterparts to take time off to care for relatives. There is also a lack of transparency about salaries in the information of vacancies or job offers, not to mention "the sexism and racism that traditionally prevails," says Diana Ramírez, head of political issues and coalitions on labor justice at the NWLC.

• Ramirez says more U.S. states need to adopt laws requiring employers to make their salary ranges and tabulators public.
• She adds that to make sure the gap is less suffered among Latinas with high educational attainment, "you also have to make sure that Latinas with lower salaries do well and can thrive."

2. Brazil considers legalizing abortion

Brazil's top court is debating whether a 1940 law that allows those seeking abortions to end up in prison for years should be reviewed and amended.

Why it matters: Brazil is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and one where the majority of the population professes to be religious. Still, polls suggest that support for a total ban on abortion has fallen.

• With the debate in the Federal Supreme Court for the possible decriminalization of abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation, Brazil could follow in the footsteps of other Latin American countries that have expanded the recognition of the right to and access to abortion in recent years.
• According to data from Datafolha, in 2022 32% of the population supported banning abortion, compared to 41% who supported it in 2018.

Namely: The possible decriminalization reached the Federal Supreme Court through a process of review of legal precedents, called ADPF, and that Rosa Weber, who until Monday was the presiding magistrate, introduced to debate.

• Before retiring this week, Weber cast his vote in favor; The other 10 judges need to vote.

The penalties for abortion are up to three years in prison according to articles of the Penal Code in force since 1940. Those who help someone have an abortion with their consent, such as doctors, can be imprisoned for up to four years.

Marches in São Paulo to mark the Global Day of Action for Safe and Legal Abortion, September 28, 2023Miguel Schincariol/AFP via Getty Images

• Weber argues in the ADPF, a 129-page document, that those 80-year-old penal provisions should now be considered unconstitutional (the Constitution is also from 1988) because they violate the right to health and autonomy.

Yes, but: It is unclear when the other justices will vote.

• The court's new president, Roberto Barroso, said in recent days that he is considering using a rule that can delay the vote for at least three months while public debate on the matter continues.
• In other issues debated through an ADPF, the court's final decision sometimes took six or more years to be issued.

Up close: Abortion in Brazil is not completely banned as it is in countries like El Salvador and Honduras. There are a few exceptions where abortionists are not supposed to be prosecuted:

• If the termination of pregnancy is because the pregnant person could lose his life if he comes to term; if there was statutory rape, or if the fetus has ancenfaly, a malformation of the brain or skull that usually results in stillbirths.

A woman tells a court of what she suffered when she could not have an abortion in Texas: "I felt abandoned"

July 20, 202302:02

• However, even those who meet these conditions have great difficulty accessing safe abortion, in part because doctors fear imprisonment or because it is prohibitively expensive for them to travel to the nearest clinic offering the service, according to Laura Molinari, executive coordinator of the group Nem Presa Nem Morta (Neither Prisoner nor Dead).
• The result is that many women are forced to seek clandestine abortions that are often unsafe, especially affecting Afro-Brazilians, indigenous and lower-income women — who are already more vulnerable because they have difficult access to medical care or birth control.
• Molinari says that leads to higher death rates or more susceptible to incarceration if they seek medical help for, say, bleeding during pregnancy.

In his own words: That the issue is being discussed both in court and on the streets so openly is considered a major step forward by activists who have been fighting for years for the decriminalization of abortion.

• It is an opportunity to "decriminalize it socially," that is, "remove that stigma from abortion, show that it is already happening frequently in women's lives" and make clear what criminalization entails, says Carla Angelini, a university researcher in São Paulo and part of Católicas Pelo Direito de Decide.
• Activists say maintaining social attention and pressure on the issue will be key to keeping the debate in court from halting indefinitely.
• "We can't afford to wait much longer for this issue to be voted on," says Molinari.

3. In focus: Tilo Lopez

Each month-end this section highlights Latinos who are making a mark in their communities.

Tilo Lopez, 33, works in youth advocacy as a college access manager at Thrive Scholars, a U.S. nonprofit that helps and supports students to be college-ready and successful throughout their bachelor's degree.

Tilo López.Photo courtesy. Illustration by Axios Visuals

Why do you do what you do?

It is possible to improve the quality of our lives through education. There are few things as rewarding as looking at a student and telling them that you expect them to give their best and that you do believe in their potential. How to do it is different for everyone, but I take pride in helping young people explore and plan their options for after high school.

What is your recipe for achieving your goals?

Get others to believe that the universe can work in their favor. I talk to students about the power of affirmation and having faith, believing in the good you can do for others.

What are you reading or watching?

The Axios Latino newsletter, of course. I also review college applications, help my students raise their voices to write their personal statement letters with pride and resilience.

What is something you do just for yourself?

I train in jiu-jitsu. Whether it's my highest or lowest moments, jiu-jitsu is always there for me.

What couldn't you live without?

Access to fresh fruits and quality ingredients. Every day I want to improve my kitchen and I like to prepare meals for my loved ones.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

A student with limited learning disabilities once wrote me a birthday note with a picture and the words "say yes to life."

4. University support for the fight against diabetes

Arizona State University (ASU) and other Phoenix-area nonprofits are focusing on the city's Latino community in a series of campaigns to prevent diabetes.

Why it matters: The likelihood of a Latino adult in the U.S. developing type 2 diabetes is 50% higher than for other demographic groups, according to CDC data.

• Hispanic children in the U.S. are also much more likely to get diabetes.

Details: The Every Little Step Counts program was initially developed in 2005 by the St. Vincent de Paul charitable group in Phoenix, which was being studied by an ASU professor, Gabriel Shaibi. The intention was to offer nutrition education to families, according to Axios reporter Jessica Boehm.

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

• They found that most young people, upon completing Every Little Step Counts, had a decrease in body fat and that 67% of participants who initially had prediabetes were no longer prediabetic, according to the organization.
• Now the program has been expanded. It lasts 16 weeks and is offered at YMCA centers where Latino children or youth and their parents must attend weekly nutrition courses as well as supervised exercise sessions.

In numbers: About 23% of Latino youth ages 12 to 18 have prediabetes, compared with about 16% of non-Hispanic white youth.

• Type 2 diabetes affects 22% of Latino adults in the U.S., compared to 12% of non-Hispanic whites.

5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

1. The United States is warning Guatemalan officials that they could face more sanctions if they continue what it called "continued efforts to undermine the peaceful transition of power."

• Over the weekend, the Attorney General's Office raided electoral offices and confiscated ballot boxes as part of a questionable investigation into the process for registering as a party of Movimiento Semilla, whose candidate won the recent presidential election.

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

• That candidate, now President-elect Bernardo Arevalo, whose inauguration is due in January, has said the investigation is apocryphal and coup-mongering. Arevalo held a phone call yesterday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the situation. There were also protests against the MP in several Guatemalan cities.

2. Former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada must pay undisclosed compensation in response to the killing of 60 civilians by government forces during protests in 2003.

• The case arose from a civil lawsuit that a group of Bolivians filed in Florida, where Sánchez de Lozada fled after his term.
• The case went to trial in 2018, marking the first time a former leader of another country had been tried in the United States for human rights crimes. Sánchez de Lozada initially appealed, but eventually reached an agreement with the families to pay.

6. Deep Relaxation

One of Colombia's most important tourist and pilgrimage sites, a salt mine that was converted into an underground Catholic cathedral, now offers spa treatments.

Spa in the depths of a salt mine promises a relaxing experience to tourists in Colombia

Sept. 25, 202302:55

Details: The spa inside the Zipaquirá salt cathedral area is nearly 600 feet (180 meters) underground.

• When it operated as a salt mine, miners carved altars and some religious motifs.
• In the early 1990s, when mining activities had already ceased, an architectural firm was hired to convert the mine into a cathedral that has several naves, grotos and colorful light details.
• The growing popularity of the salt cathedral as a tourist attraction has led to the opening of shops in the underground area, and now the spa that offers treatments using the salt of the mine.

Thanks for reading! We returned on Thursday.

If you want to share your experiences or send us suggestions and comments, send an email to axioslatino@axios.com.

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