Latina women, along with other minorities of color, are “overrepresented” in the tipped workforce in the United States, making them more likely to live near or below the poverty line compared to their male and female counterparts. non-Hispanic white.
Despite representing only 7.9% of the total workforce in the US, the participation of Hispanic women among those who depend on tips amounts to almost double, at 12.9%, reveals a report published this Wednesday by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC, in English).
This coincides with another study by the Washington-based NGO, which places Hispanic women among the majorities with the 40 lowest paying jobs from the country.
Poverty wages
Nearly 7 in 10 tipped wage workers in the US are women, and among them, approximately 3 in 10 are women of color. Among this last group, Latinas are among the largest groups, behind non-Hispanic white women. Black women and those belonging to the Asian American and Pacific Islander group are also among this majority.
This means that those who work as waitresses in restaurants and other services receive in the vast majority of cases a minimum wage of only $2.13 per hour before tips, even though the federal minimum wage has remained at $7. $25 per hour since 2009.
Although employers are required by law to ensure that their workers receive at least the state minimum wage when tips do not reach this level, many do not meet this requirement.
“Nationally, the poverty rate for tipped workers (10.3%) is more than double that rate among workers in general,” insists the study, which also shows that in states where the wage is still fixed rate is $2.13 an hour, “30.8% of tipped workers, including Latinas, live in or near poverty.
Specifically within this sector, 33.9% of Hispanic women live near poverty, compared to 24.4% of non-Hispanic white men.
Women in the tip-dependent group “are especially affected by poverty wages especially in light of the rising costs of food, child care, and housing,” the research adds.
This high female concentration also contributes to deepening the wage and gender gap in the US, where women who work full-time, year-round generally receive only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men.
Discrimination and job insecurity
Among the factors that contribute to the disproportionate representation of Latinas in this group, discrimination stands out, he assured the Voice of America the NWLC Labor Justice expert, Diana Ramírez.
“Women’s work and Latina work is less valued because of outright discrimination. It’s also because of occupational segregation: Latinas are disproportionately represented in low-paying jobs. The restaurant industry in general is very welcoming to immigrants, and with people who for various reasons cannot work in other industries,” Ramírez insisted.
Among Latinas who rely on tips, the percentage of mothers (nearly 31%) is higher than among their non-Hispanic white counterparts (25.3%). Low-paid employment also leads to problems accessing child care, “they have unpredictable schedules and often have no sick leave (or paid days) let alone paid family and medical leave,” explained the NWLC expert.
Women who have to rely on tips as their major source of income also face a higher risk of sexual harassment, due to the pressure they may feel to tolerate inappropriate behavior from customers just to make ends meet.
Improvements in states with fair wage policies
The National Women’s Law Center study also shows that tipped workers’ income varies depending on where they live. States with fair wage policies such as Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington require employers to pay the regular state minimum wage to tipped earners.
In these territories, the average income of the tip-dependent sector is $7,000 higher and poverty rates decrease by more than 30%, a number that decreases by more than 35% among those who have children, said Diana Ramírez. .
“The gender pay gap for all women working full-time, year-round is almost 30% smaller” in these states with fair wage policies compared to those that guarantee only $2.13 an hour, the agency said. expert.
Ramírez highlighted that “in the face of rising costs of living, tipped workers need and deserve a fair wage to thrive.”
“Increasing the overall minimum wage and ensuring that tipped workers also receive tips, before tips, is a key step toward financial security for women and families, and helps promote equal pay for women,” concluded the NWLC specialist, who advocates for federal and state policies that guarantee job security and fair income for all workers.
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