California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom came to Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood to meet with local Latina entrepreneurs and non-profits Thursday for “Latina Equal Pay Day.”
The Latino Community Foundation and Prospera non-profits joined eight Latina entrepreneurs for an hour-long discussion to share their stories of economic pay inequity and how it impacts them and their families.
Claudia Arroyo, the Executive Director of Prospera said she was moved to hear one woman explaining that she would work eight hours and make the same amount as her Latino husband would make in four hours.
Arroyo held up a dollar bill that was half colored in blue to represent how much money Latina workers make compared to white men.
“Fifty-one cents of every single dollar paid to white non-Hispanic men,” Arroyo said.
Some say Latina women often have part-time jobs to take care of families or work in low-wage industries.
Another challenge is stereotypes in society that see …