Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, in general, earn 85 cents for every $1.00 earned by a White, non-Hispanic male.
March 5 marked Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Women’s Equal Pay Day, which represents how many extra months the typical AAPI woman in the U.S. has to work to make what her White, non-Hispanic men colleagues did last year alone. In 2017, self-identified Asian women working full time, year-round missed out on $9,010 annually and made only 85 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men.
That’s more than what White women earn compared to their male counterparts. White women, on average, earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by a White, non-Hispanic male.
Those who say Asian women’s earnings performance compared to other women might be cause for celebration, are missing the point — 85 cents is still less than the $1 for the same work done by a White guy.
The figure for Asian women is also misleading. It hides the wide disparity within the AAPI community which contains over 40 ethnic groups and 100 languages. (See figure.)
Many racial and/or ethnic subgroups of Asian women experience much larger wage gaps compared to White, non-Hispanic men.
Based on 2017 figures compiled by the National Women’s Law Center, even Asian women who are highly paid surgeons or physicians are underpaid compared to their male peers. In the medical professions, a male-dominated, high-wage occupation—Asian medical professionals make 57 cents for every dollar paid to their White, non-Hispanic male counterparts.
On the other end of the spectrum, Asian women working as hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers—a male-dominated, low-wage occupation—make 76 cents for every dollar paid to their White, non-Hispanic male counterparts.
–Burmese and Fijian women make less than half—44 percent and 45 percent respectively—of what White, non-Hispanic men make. Hmong and Cambodian make little more than half (55 percent) of what White, non-Hispanic men make.
–Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Thai, Bangladeshi, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, and Laotian women all make less than 80 cents for every dollar made by White, non-Hispanic men.
— A few subgroups of Asian women typically make more than White, non-Hispanic men: Malaysian, Indian, and Taiwanese women were paid $25,000, $10,000, and $5,000 more than White, non-Hispanic men respectively. However, compared to Indian men, Indian women make just 76 cents and compared to Taiwanese men, Taiwanese women are paid just 80 cents. And while Chinese women are typically paid the same as White, non-Hispanic men, compared to Chinese men, they are paid just 89 cents on the dollar.
— Among full time, year round workers, Asian women without a high school degree typically make only 64 cents for every dollar White, non-Hispanic men without a high school degree make. Asian women with an associate’s degree typically make less—by about $8,076 each year—than White, non-Hispanic men with only a high school degree (about 83 cents for every dollar).
— While the wage gap for Asian women declines as they obtain more education, Asian women must obtain a bachelor’s degree or more before their typical wages exceed those of White, non-Hispanic men without a bachelor’s degree. Asian women with a bachelor’s degree are paid $60,660—only about 18 cents more ($1.18) for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men with some college but no degree.
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