(Photo : REUTERS)

Working in the United States proves to be a struggle for Latinas as they are confronted by racial and gender profiling which deprive them from receiving equal pay compared to their white male counterparts.

According to the study "Latinas Powering Forward: Defining the Cultural Narrative and Reaching New Horizons" by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Comcast NBCUniversal, despite obtaining a degree with flying colors, Latinas averagely earn a third of what non-Hispanic white males receive with similar educational profiles regardless of occupation. This means Latinas only earn 54 cents for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic men.

NBC News also reports that Latinas are making history in the academic arena. Over the past two decades, millennial Latinas with associate, bachelor's or graduate degrees grew 70 percent- from 17 percent of Latinas in 2000 to 30 percent in 2017. The pace outmatched Latino males with 56 percent growth rate and even non-Latina females with 35 percent growth rate.

Also, for the first time in history, the growth of Latinas in the workforce outpaced non-Latinas and Latino males. From 2000 to 2017, the Latina workforce grew more than 90 percent compared to 71 percent for Latino males and 13 percent for non-Latinas.

November 20, 2019, Wednesday, was marked, "Latina Equal Pay Day" in United States as Latina pay matches the same amount paid to white, non-Latino men the previous year. It is the last equal pay of the year following the Native Women's Equal Pay Day in September, African American Women's Equal Pay Day in August, white women observed an equal pay day in April, and Asian American Women's Equal Pay Day in March. This means that Latinas on average has to work longer than every other demographic to achieve equal pay.

Monica Gil, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said higher education alone cannot address the gender wage gap.  She also tackled how grateful Latinas are for their jobs, "but we need to move from a grateful to getable mindset by negotiating for better salaries and better equipping ourselves to take on positions of leadership."

The chief marketing officer also stressed the need for companies to invest in training programs that will allow Latinas to see their value in the corporate arena and use this as a platform to showcase their abilities in leading people.

Gil said Latinas do not have strong networks as non-Hispanic white males do and this is also supported by the fact that many women, not only Latinas but also other races, don't feel comfortable in handling higher responsibilities especially those they haven't done before.

The gender pay gap issues has an immense impact the US economy, since currently, almost 1 in every 5 American women, or 18 percent, are Latina.

Gil further noted that if companies want to grow, they need to stop using outdated strategies to attract Latinas since they are the most coveted demographic in the workforce. She added, "They need to understand that there is no one more powerful than the Latina consumer, Latina voter or Latina businesswoman and support Latinas' causes both internally and externally."