Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Equal Pay Day

Today - August 31, 2022 - marks Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Equal Pay Day, the date this year when NHPI women’s average earnings catch up to what white, non-Hispanic men made in 2021.

On average, NHPI women earn 60 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. Wage data typically combines Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders together or overlooks NHPI people altogether.

The combined average for AANHPI women is 75 cents to the white, non-Hispanic male dollar. When you disaggregate, or separate, the data, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians earned 66 and 57 cents, respectively.

The ‘model minority’ myth has cast a shadow over NHPI women for far too long making their unique experiences and barriers to wage parity invisible. Today NAPAWF is joining a social media push led by Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) to raise awareness of how NHPI women are impacted by the wage gap and how they are often rendered invisible in mainstream conversations about it.

“The wage gap leaves NHPI women without financial security, causing them to work multiple jobs and/or longer hours. We demand data disaggregation and expansion of NHPI subgroups, including Marshallese, Chuukese, and Palauan women. In addition, we demand data for Queer and Transgender Pacific Islanders (QTPIs), who are also impacted by the wage gap. We will continue to advocate for our communities until these demands are met in order to achieve true equity.”

- Estella Owoimaha-Church, executive director of EPIC. Read more in our joint press statement.

Follow the conversation about #NHPIEqualPay on Twitter or share your perspective using EPIC’s Social Media Toolkit.