IV 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 55 

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid 

to Latina women in comparison to men. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 21, 2021 

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. 

ESCOBAR, Mr. NADLER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 

New York, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. LIEU, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. WELCH, Ms. NORTON, 

Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. NEWMAN, 

Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. 

DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. 

DEAN, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. DELBENE, 

Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. CHU, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. JONES, Ms. 

BASS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. OMAR, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. MENG, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 

COSTA, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. ROSS, Mr. SOTO, Mr. 

KAHELE, Mr. VELA, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. TITUS, Mr. 

PALLONE, Mr. CORREA, and Ms. STANSBURY) submitted the following 

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 

and Labor 


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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity 

in wages paid to Latina women in comparison to men. 

Whereas October 21, 2021, is ‘‘Latina Equal Pay Day’’, 

which marks the day that symbolizes how long into 2021 

Latina women, on average, must work to make what 

White, non-Hispanic men were paid in 2020; 

Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) prohibits discrimination in 

wages on the basis of sex for equal work; 

Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

2000e et seq.) prohibits discrimination in compensation 

because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex; 

Whereas, despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 

(29 U.S.C. 206 note) more than five decades ago, which 

establishes that employers shall not discriminate in wages 

on the basis of sex, but shall provide equal pay for equal 

work, Census Bureau data shows that Latina women 

working full-time, year-round are typically paid 57 cents 

for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men; 

Whereas as a study conducted in 2019 found that on average, Latina women lose over $1,100,000 in potential 

earnings over their lifetime to the wage gap; 

Whereas the median annual pay for a Latina woman in the 

United States working full-time, year-round was $38,718 

in 2020, placing a working mother with two children near 

poverty; 

Whereas job loss during the pandemic distorted measurements of average wages as women with lower earnings in 


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•HCON 55 IH 

sectors such as leisure, hospitality, and retail were more 

likely to experience job loss and leave the labor force; 

Whereas the Latina unemployment rate peaked at 20.1 percent in April 2020, and the Latina civilian labor force 

participation rate fell from a high of 59.2 percent in October 2019 to 57 percent in September 2020; 

Whereas lost wages mean Latina women have less money to 

support themselves and their families, save and invest for 

the future, and spend on goods and services; 

Whereas 51 percent of Latinas are unable to earn sick days 

through their jobs; 

Whereas more than half of Latina low-wage earners report 

that they spent most or all of their savings during the 

pandemic, and 32 percent have no money left for emergencies, compared to 13 percent of White men; 

Whereas the lack of affordable, accessible childcare during 

the COVID–19 pandemic led 14 percent of Latinas, and 

32 percent of immigrant Latinas, to quit their jobs or reduce their number of work hours to care for their children; 

Whereas the underpayment of Latina workers causes businesses and the economy to suffer; 

Whereas the lack of access to affordable, quality childcare, 

paid family and medical leave, and other family friendly 

workplace policies forces many Latina women to choose 

between their paycheck or job and getting quality care 

for themselves or their family members, a dynamic that 

contributes to the wage gap and has been further exacerbated by the COVID–19 pandemic, especially as Latina 

women disproportionately work in essential jobs that put 

them at greater risk of exposure to COVID–19; 


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Whereas, if the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a 

Latina woman working full-time, year-round would have 

enough money for approximately 3 years of childcare, to 

pay off her student debt in 1 year, or to pay off 19 

months of the average mortgage payment; 

Whereas 25 to 85 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the workplace, and research has found that only 

a small number of those who experience harassment, or 

about 1 in 10, formally report incidents for reasons including lack of access to the complaint process and fear 

of retaliation; 

Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave 

their occupation or industry, as targets of harassment are 

6.5 times as likely as nontargets to change jobs, or pass 

up opportunities for advancement, and this contributes to 

the gender wage gap; 

Whereas there is a high personal cost for women who have 

been sexually harassed, including unemployment, underemployment, and financial stress resulting from changing 

jobs, which lead to long-term consequences for earnings 

and career attainment; 

Whereas two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or 

less in 2020 were women, and there is a disproportionate 

concentration of women of color in low-wage and tipped 

jobs; 

Whereas the pay disparity Latina women face is part of a 

wider set of disparities Latina women face in home ownership, unemployment, poverty, access to childcare, and 

the ability to build wealth; 


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•HCON 55 IH 

Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that 

addresses the gender and racial injustices that Latina 

women face daily; and 

Whereas many national organizations have designated October 21, 2021, as ‘‘Latina Equal Pay Day’’ to represent 

the additional time that Latina women must work into 

the next calendar year to receive the earnings of their 

White, non-Hispanic counterparts in the prior census 

year: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to 

4 Latina women and its impact on women, families, 

5 the economy and our entire country; and 

6 (2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay 

7 and closing the gender wage gap. 

Æ 


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