‘All-Star Weekend’ Star Eva Longoria (51) Sounds the Alarm on the Latina Wage Gap on Latina Equal Pay Day
Eva Longoria has long used her fame for more than red carpets. The actress and director first became widely known as Gabrielle Solis on ‘Desperate Housewives’, and she has since expanded into producing and directing while pushing for more authentic Latino stories and more opportunities behind the scenes.
Her advocacy extends well beyond Hollywood. The Eva Longoria Foundation supports Latinas through STEM education, mentorship, parental engagement, college scholarships and entrepreneurship. On August 20, she also marked National Latina Day with a post about how proud she is to be Latina.
This week, Longoria turned her attention to a more uncomfortable topic. To mark Latina Equal Pay Day on October 8, she took to Instagram to highlight the wage gap facing Latina workers in the United States. Her message was simple: Latinas are still paid just 53 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.
She explained that the figure covers all Latina women with reported earnings, including seasonal workers, migrant workers and those working part-time. The post was a carousel that included a photo of her in a white T-shirt with a message about power and progress, along with infographics breaking down the earnings gap. The final image showed a group of smiling women holding signs as they advocate for their rights.
One of the infographics in her post put a spotlight on immigrant Latinas, who are in an even more disadvantaged position. According to that graphic, they earn only 43 cents for every dollar earned by the men they are compared with. It’s a stark number, and it shows how the wage gap can widen further for women who face additional barriers.
Longoria’s focus on that group fits the broader message of the day. Latina Equal Pay Day marks how far into the year the average Latina must work to earn what white, non-Hispanic men earned in the previous year alone.
Advocacy groups marking the day this year have cited slightly different figures depending on how the data is measured. Latinas are paid 54 cents on the dollar on average, and for full-time, year-round workers the gap is 58 cents. Those groups estimate that the average Latina stands to lose about $1.2 million over a 40-year career because of the gap.
The disparity persists across education levels and sectors, which undercuts the idea that Latinas are simply concentrated in lower-paying jobs. The gap also remains far wider than the one between women overall and men overall, which makes it a distinct issue rather than a footnote in the broader equal pay conversation.
This isn’t Longoria’s first time raising the issue. In a 2017 essay on Latina Equal Pay Day, she described the gap as being like ripping a dollar bill in half, or working a full week but only getting paid through Wednesday afternoon. She also argued that Latinas rank last among the major demographic groups in the country when it comes to pay compared with white men.
A year later, she pushed the same message on Instagram, citing research from SurveyMonkey and LeanIn.Org and calling education the first step toward change. Her posts have consistently pair hard numbers with a call to action, which has helped keep the topic visible year after year.
Longoria’s advocacy now sits alongside a busy career as an actor, director, producer, entrepreneur and co-founder of Hyphenate Media Group. She has also credited her mom as the inspiration for her new series ‘Land of Women’.
Her latest post is a reminder that Latina Equal Pay Day isn’t a one-day awareness hashtag but an ongoing economic problem for millions of women. With the gap still so wide, celebrity voices like hers can keep the conversation in the public eye.
What do you think is the most important step toward closing the Latina wage gap?
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