Asian American Pacific Islander Women Make Less than White Men

By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent

Asian American women make 84 cents for every dollar paid to White non-Hispanic men while Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women made just 62 cents in 2014, according to a new fact sheet published by the Center for American Progress.

“The Asian American and Pacific Islander community is vastly diverse, and the economic challenges that women within this community face are not monolithic,” said Shilpa Phadke, Senior Director of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress. “Aggregate data do not tell the complete story of the unique challenges that women in key subsets of the AAPI community experience, nor do they provide policymakers with the information necessary to make fully informed policy decisions.”

The diversity of AAPIs is especially highlighted when looking closely at the numbers of the subpopulations. In 2014, Vietnamese women were paid, on average, just 62 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, while Japanese American women made 94 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.

Chinese American women made about the same as White men and Indian American women made significantly more, $1.17 for every dollar paid to White non-Hispanic men. That’s largely attributable to the education level of Indian Americans. Overall 72 percent have graduated from college versus compared to just under 34 percent overall.

When comparing people with the same educational level, Asian American women make 80 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.

The fact sheet also delved into the role of AAPI women in the labor force. You can read more about that in the new fact sheet published by the Center for American Progress.

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