Latina journalists and the wage gap

ramosbrandon900
Dec 6, 2022
6 min read

“I remember the punched-in-the-gut feeling I had the moment I learned that a young male reporter with just a few years of experience had nearly the exact same salary that I had, despite my two decades as a working journalist,” said a female Milwaukee Journal Sentinel journalist. “It’s discouraging knowing that I make less money than many men in the newsroom with the same or fewer years of experience,” she continued. (Quote provided by newsguild.org).

Throughout the United States there are millions of people who wake up everyday and go to work in order to support their families. Their jobs can be in factories where they work long hours in small cramped spaces with sweat dripping from their foreheads to barely make enough for a loaf of bread to be split at the dinner table. Or it could be in a nicely furnished office with air conditioning, perfect lighting, internet access, and cushioned swivel chairs that allow support for those who are sitting in them. Regardless of the industry of work that is being looked at there is one constant. That constant is the wage gap that exists between male and female employees.

According to nationalpartnership.org and cnbc.com in the United States, women are paid 77 cents for every dollar that a man will make. For Latinas that number is even less, it shrinks to 57 cents for every dollar. It is estimated that over a 40 year career a woman will miss out on 1.1 million dollars in salary compared to their white male counterpart. That is to say that a woman who does the exact same job, and has the exact same education and qualifications as a white man will not be paid nearly as much.

This problem is seen in every industry throughout the United States, but this problem is especially prominent in newsrooms throughout the country. This problem can be found at almost every major publication in the United States. The Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post all currently have female journalists suffering the effects of this issue in their newsrooms. This problem makes life more difficult for a certain demographic, specifically for Latina journalists in comparison to white men.

A 2021 study found that in 14 Gannett newsrooms journalists of color earned $5,246 less, or 90 percent of the white median salary. Furthermore, women of color earned $15,726 less, or 73 percent of white men’s median salary.

Many female employees of these newsrooms shared their discontent and used their voice to express their opinions about these important findings.

“I believe, despite my nearly decade history in journalism, I am being paid at a base level. The company has done nothing to increase my salary,” said a female journalist from the Springfield News-Leader. (Quote provided by NewsGuild-CWA Study).

“As a woman and as an experienced reporter, I have long felt undervalued by the various companies that owned the newspapers where I worked,” mentioned a female journalist from the Florida Times-Union. (Quote provided by NewsGuild-CWA Study).

Latinos make up 18.9 percent of the United States population according to 2020 Census data. With that being said, Latinos are still being underrepresented in the newsroom with a 2019 study finding that about 11 percent of journalists and reporters in the United States being Latino, this includes Spanish-language networks and publications that have mostly all Latino employees.

This creates significant issues specifically for Latina journalists because of the demographic and background from which they come from. Some of these women did not have the fortune of being born in the United States. They have had to migrate to a whole different country in order to succeed. Others have had the task of fighting through working various jobs in order to receive an education and finally be able to demonstrate to the world that they are valuable journalists in their fields. They have been breaking down barriers since birth. Barriers such as language barriers, color barriers, gender barriers, and educational barriers.

Experience for these women who have fought to make a name for themselves in the industry and have been able to succeed has not equaled financial success. Women who worked at least 30 years at newspapers currently owned by Gannett earned $27,026 less, or 63 percent the annual median salary of male peers. This is not only a problem seen within Gannett newsrooms, this negative trend has been seen throughout newsrooms, with major findings within the newsrooms of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Not only does the wage gap affect current Latina journalists that have worked in the field for many years, but more than anything it makes a whole new generation of future aspiring female journalists not want to endeavor into this field because of the wage gap that exists within newsrooms. As the percentage of minorities grows in the United States, so does the percentage of minorities in the newsroom. Although at a discouraging rate along with a huge gap in between.

In many markets throughout the United States there are newsrooms that are less diverse than the community that they serve and are reporting on. The Gannett newsrooms study found that 13 of the 14 newsrooms were whiter than the communities they covered. Also, a 2021 study found that 65 percent of the news anchors in San Antonio, Texas newsrooms were white while 25 percent of them were Latino. This was an eye-opening discovery for the newsrooms of this city because it also identified as having a 65 percent Latino population.

As a result of the wage gap within newsrooms and the pay discrimination that Latina journalists face, the future for female Latina journalists going into the field begins with a fear.

“I’m gonna have to fight for my spot the entire time I'm there. I'm gonna fight to be heard, not only because im hispanic but also because i'm a woman, it's definitely gonna make things a lot harder. I know I'm gonna be overlooked a lot and that is one of my biggest fears. I'm gonna have to be fighting for myself and it's gonna be hard.” said Brenda Sanchez a Latina student journalist at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Even with all of these issues facing them and it seeming like they are somewhat disadvantaged these women are still optimistic that they can and will reach their goals.

“I know that if I work hard enough I can get whatever I want. It’s just tough out there in general, that just inspires me to not doubt myself just because there are more men in the industry. We could be the first in anything, if they (other Latina journalists) did it then I could do it too.” Said Kimberly Resendiz a Latina student journalist at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

There is no reason for which a woman should be paid less than a man. Especially jobs and positions that require the same education and the same amount of dedication to do. This year Equal Pay Day was on March 15, 2022 the earliest that it has ever been recorded. This date means how far into the current year the average woman would need to work in order to have earned what the average median man had earned the entire previous year. Sadly this is for median white women, for a Latina this same equal pay day for them is on December 8th. President Joe Biden signed a proclamation for recognition of the equal work that women do.

“I call upon all Americans to recognize the full value of women’s skills and their significant contributions to the labor force, acknowledge the injustice of wage inequality, and join efforts to achieve equal pay.” (Quote provided by whitehouse.gov).

Although this issue is seen worldwide and has become something that simply flies under the radar, there is change that is currently happening and change that still needs to be done. Change takes time and breaking down barriers and norms can be difficult but there are unions and journalist associations in charge of advocating for these Latina journalists that are not being paid enough and being represented as they should be. There are certain ways to fight this problem and it starts with addressing the issue head-on with publications. Raising awareness is one way that advocating for change can make a difference. Higher starting salaries for these Latina journalists who have to jump over more obstacles than most. Unionizing is a great way to create change as a whole within publications in order to get what they deserve.

“There is always an excuse when I ask to be paid equally to those with my same experience level. Don’t use my skin for your diversity. My skin made me work twice as hard to be here so I deserve to earn twice as much as you can afford. I could at least get even.” said a journalist from the Arizona Republic Newspaper. (Quote provided by newsguild.org).