Latinas and Black women in Montgomery County experience the largest pay gap of any Maryland area, according to a new Maryland Department of Labor report.
Maryland has the fourth-smallest gender pay gaps of any state, where women earn 86 cents for every dollar earned by men, but that gap is much wider for women of color.
The report calculated racial and gender wage gaps from data averaged from 2018 to 2022. The department released the report on Equal Pay Day, the day the average women has to work until to earn the same amount the average man earned the previous year.
Wage gaps are disparities between how groups are paid on-average throughout a year. The pay gap calculation typically represents gaps by comparing how much one group – usually a gender, racial or ethnic group – makes for every dollar earned by another group.
The report showed a persistent wage gap for women across Maryland, which has not significantly closed within the last decade.
“This is an issue of basic fairness – and this is an issue of economic strength. Our call for action is very simple: Let’s get equal pay for equal work,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said in a Tuesday press conference.
In Montgomery County, Latinas on average earn 36 cents for every dollar earned by non-hispanic white men. Black women earn 51 cents for every dollar.
Over a lifetime, Latinas in Montgomery County loose around three million dollars due to pay disparities, the report said, while Black women in the county loose around two million.
Across Maryland, Latinas are paid 50 cents and Black women are paid 67 cents for every dollar a non-hispanic white man makes. The statewide pay gap for Latinas is the fourth-largest pay gap of any state.
“That’s a lot of money that could make an enormous difference over a Latina’s lifetime and that of her family’s,” Maryland Latinos Unidos Executive Director Gabriela Lemus said. “If we don’t intercede early enough, she will likely never be allowed to retire, and she is made vulnerable to a lifetime of poverty.”
Both state and federal laws prohibit gender-based and race-based pay discrimination, but the gap still persists across the state and country, the report outlined.
One bill going through the Maryland General Assembly aims to combat pay discrimination through wage range transparency.
State Senators Ariana Kelly, who represents Montgomery County, and Dawn Gile are sponsoring the Wage Range Transparency Act. The bill would require employers to release job posting wage ranges, benefits and other compensation internally and publicly. The bill passed the Maryland Senate Thursday.
This information would level the playing field for all Maryland workers, Sen. Kelly said in a Tuesday press conference.
“This empowers potential employees with essential information and will help close Maryland’s persistent wage gap for women and people of color,” Kelly said.
