Data Reveals Need for Wage Equity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women and Gender Expansive People

For Immediate Release: April 7, 2025
Contact: Lasamee Kettavong, media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Equal Pay Day, the point at which each year the earnings of AANHPI women “catch up” to those of non-Hispanic, white men from the previous year. As a group, AANHPI women were paid 83 cents compared to every dollar made by non-Hispanic, white men, resulting in thousands of dollars lost every year, accumulating over the course of a lifetime. 

Across different AANHPI ethnic groups and between men and women, wage gaps vary widely, emphasizing the importance of data disaggregation to reveal the unique challenges that each group faces in pursuit of economic stability. These disparities are often hidden due to the model minority myth that portrays Asian Americans as a universally successful monolith. In reality, AANHPI women are overrepresented in low wage occupations, and face additional hurdles to economic mobility such as limited English proficiency, challenges related to work authorization, and workplace discrimination. The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is committed to shedding light on the challenges faced by AANHPI women and gender expansive people and to advocating for their empowerment through the pursuit of economic and reproductive justice. 

NAPAWF’s executive director, Sung Yeon Choimorrow stated, “The long-perpetuated American Dream, combined with the model minority myth, paint a false picture of prosperity and success for all. This false narrative obscures the harsh economic realities that AANHPI women and gender expansive people face every day. Many experience stagnant wages and exploitative working conditions. On average, AANHPI women earn just 83 cents for every dollar that white, non-Hispanic men make, and when disaggregated by  subgroup, the gap is even starker. Over the course of a 40-year career, full-time, year-round AANHPI women workers can lose nearly $82,000 to the wage gap, with some subgroups losing over a million dollars. This persistent inequity robs our communities of the opportunity to build wealth and thrive. We must strengthen the protections offered by the Equal Pay Act and advocate for better, more inclusive policies that support economic stability and opportunity for all.”

Through our work, we advocate for policies that pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable economy, one that addresses how differences like gender, race, immigration status, and class intersect to create unique barriers. These barriers can be dismantled through solidarity, collaboration, and informed policymaking.

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.