The Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley is hoping to bring to light the "alarming" wage gap between Latina women and their white male counterparts in the Bay Area.
The group is demanding action to close that gap and held a rally at San Jose State University on Thursday, also known as National Latina Equal Pay Day.
"Unfortunately, Silicon Valley is at the epicenter of the wage gap nationally." Latina workers, on average, paid 33.6 cents on the dollar, compared to their non-Hispanic counterparts, males," said Gabby Chazez Lopez, the executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley.
According to research by the coalition, Latinas in Silicon Valley lose roughly $46,000 every year because of the wage gap.
Those figures caught the attention of San Jose Councilman Peter Ortiz, who said he would request an audit of city payrolls.
"To make sure there's no gender gaps that exist within the city, and there may be. We may have some very interesting results of that study" Ortiz said.
Voler Strategic Advisors, one of the fastest-growing public relations firms in Silicon Valley, pays its employees the same for comparable work regardless of gender identity, according to Rolando Bonilla, the firm's chief strategy officer.
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"In order for us to stay relevant, to stay at the top of our game, it's going to take every woman and every man within this organization to move forward," Bonilla said.
However, the award-winning agency might be one of the exceptions.
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At Thursday's rally, the Latina Coalition asked that every South Bay company review its books and close the wage gap by paying Latina women equal pay.
