Economy

How Much Getting Paid Less than a Man Will Cost a Woman by the End of Her Life

April 5th 2016

Latinas in this country will lose the most, more than $1 million, because of the gender and racial wage gap. Over a 40 year working career, Latinas will lose an average of $1,007,080 according to a new study by The National Women's Law Center. On average American women in general will make $430,480 less than men over a 40-year working career.

ATTN: has previously reported on the disparity known as the wage gap, where women are paid less than men for doing the same job.

The wage gap even happens to famous people.

High-profile actresses like Jennifer Lawrence have spoken out about the wage gap. Lawrence who Forbes said was one of the highest paid actress in 2015, found out that she was making significantly less than her male counterparts after an email hacking scandal at Sony. Lawrence wrote an essay in Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter, where she talked about negotiating pay as a woman.

"It’s hard for me to speak about my experience as a working woman because I can safely say my problems aren’t exactly relatable. When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need. (I told you it wasn’t relatable, don’t hate me)."

She talked about her need to be liked and she thinks many women fall prey to that need when it comes to pay negotiations. She also talked about the men she knows who, when it comes to money, don't care about being liked at all.

"I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It’s just heard. Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper all fought and succeeded in negotiating powerful deals for themselves."

But this new study addresses more than the gender gap. It also confronts the racial wage gap. Women of color are taking bigger hits. Right behind Latina's for the worst pay gap, American Black women will lose an average of $877,480 in the course of their working life.

But those groups don't take all the losses. In certain states, Native American and Asian women are losing huge amounts of money. Native American women lose $1.4 million in California, and Asian women will lose $1.2 million in Alaska. The lifetime wage gap in each state varies by race. The District of Columbia, New Jersey, and California consistently come up in the three worst places for minority groups.

Pay gaps are the worst for Latinas in these three places.

1. The District of Columbia: $1,781,720

2. New Jersey: $1,685,120

3. California: $1,616,520

Pay gaps are the worst for Black women in these places.

1. The District of Columbia $1,595,200

2. New Jersey $1,231,600

3. Connecticut $1,140,400

Pay gaps for Asian women are the worst in these places.

1. Alaska $1,196,200

2. District of Columbia $908,240

3. California $791,480

Pay gaps for Native American women are the worst in these places.

1. California $1,395,320

2. Deleware $1,303,560

3. New Jersey $1,220,880

These three states have the worst pay gaps overall for American women.

1. Louisiana $671,840

2. Utah $663,440

3. Wyoming $650,960

RELATED: Gender Pay Gap in Hollywood Revealed in New Chart

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