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(AP) By Rebecca Jerome May 16, 2019 By Garrett Spikes May 16, 2019 # Fact-checking median pay for black, Hispanic, Native American women In a tweet timed for Equal Pay Day, the West Virginia Democratic Party sought to spotlight differences in pay between women of color and men. The April 2 tweet said, \"Black women make only around 63 cents while Native American women earn 58 cents, and Hispanic women make just 54 cents in comparison to every dollar a man makes. Today we not only acknowledge the pay gap, we recommit to closing it. #EqualPayDay2019.\" > Black women make only around 63 cents while Native American women earn 58 > cents, and Hispanic women make just 54 cents in comparison to every dollar a > man makes. Today we not only acknowledge the pay gap, we recommit to closing > it. #EqualPayDay2019 pic.twitter.com/rz5lb0SjZn > > — WV Democratic Party (@wvdemocrats) April 2, 2019 Is this correct? After looking at the underlying data, we found that it’s not far off. When we contacted the party, they pointed us to a report produced by the National Partnership of Women and Families in April 2019. The report said that \"among women who hold full-time, year-round jobs in the United States, Black women are typically paid 61 cents, Native American women 58 cents and Latinas just 53 cents for every dollar paid to white, non- Hispanic men.\" Those aren’t exactly the same numbers that the party offered, but they match the previous year’s version of the partnership’s report. So the data is slightly out of date. In addition, we should note that the state party left out part of the description. The National Partnership of Women and Families was comparing women who hold full-time, year-round jobs, not just women who are working any amount of time. And they were also comparing those figures to white, non- Hispanic men, not to men more generally. Potentially, this could make a difference. So we decided to look at the underlying Census Bureau data for the comparison the tweet actually made -- earnings by black, Native American, and Hispanic women compared to all men. Overall, according to the Census data, the median earnings for all male workers was $44,408. For black women, it was $29,708, and for Hispanic women, it was $24,245. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview “JD Vance actually sent a letter last year to the Department of Justice saying, ‘enforce the Comstock Act.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" true/3d4df195c595a07e3fd69b5e4aab3e3c.jpg.\\") ![\\"true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 30, 2024 That means that African-American women earned 67 cents for every dollar a man made, while Hispanic women earned 55 cents. The data for Native American women was harder to locate. The National Partnership of Women and Families pointed us to a different data set from the Census Bureau. According to that data set, men earned a median of $39,819, while Native American women earned $23,214. That works out to 58 cents on the dollar, as the tweet said. All told, the tweet’s figure for African Americans was off by four cents, the figure for Hispanics was off by one cent, and the figure was accurate for Native Americans. So, two of the tweet’s figures are off the mark, but not by much. A final note: as we’ve written previously, this figure refers to the general disparity between what men and women earn, and does not compare cases of apples to apples. These comparisons do not adjust for such factors as the degrees and jobs women pursue, the time they take off to care for children, or the years of experience they’ve had. Other studies have shown a closer match for men and women holding the same jobs. Our ruling The West Virginia Democratic Party tweeted, \"Black women make only around 63 cents while Native American women earn 58 cents, and Hispanic women make just 54 cents in comparison to every dollar a man makes.\" The tweet is right for Native American women, but the figures for black women and Hispanic women are 67 cents and 55 cents, respectively. That’s not exactly what the tweet said, but it’s not far off. We rate the statement Mostly True. Share the Facts 2019-05-16 20:06:34 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" 5 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" mostlytrue.jpg\\") PolitiFact Rating: Mostly True \"Black women make only around 63 cents while Native American women earn 58 cents, and Hispanic women make just 54 cents in comparison to every dollar a man makes.\" West Virginia Democratic Party state party ![](\\" a tweet Tuesday, April 2, 2019 2019-04-02 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources West Virginia Democratic Party, tweet, April 2, 2019 U.S. Census Bureau, \"PINC-05. Work Experience-People 15 Years Old and Over, by Total Money Earnings, Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, Sex, and Disability Status,\" 2017 U.S. Census Bureau, \"Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months (in 2017 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars) by Sex by Work Experience in the Past 12 Months for the Population 16 Years and Over With Earnings in the Past 12 Months,\" accessed May 16, 2019 U.S. Census Bureau, \"Earnings in the Past 12 Months (in 2017 Inflation- Adjusted Dollars) by Sex by Work Experience in the Past 12 Months for the Population 16 Years and Over with Earnings in the Past 12 Months (American Indian and Alaska Native Alone),\" accessed May 16, 2019 National Partnership for Women and Families, analysis of study conducted by U.S. Census Bureau, accessed May 1, 2019 National Partnership for Women and Families, fact sheet, accessed May 1, 2019 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Rebecca Jerome ![](\\" ![](\\" West Virginia Democratic Party stated on April 2, 2019 in a tweet: \"Black women make only around 63 cents while Native American women earn 58 cents, and Hispanic women make just 54 cents in comparison to every dollar a man makes.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Rebecca Jerome • May 16, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" West Virginia Republican Party stated on April 5, 2019 in a tweet: \"West Virginia spends more tax dollars on public education than all but 13 other states and the District of Columbia.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Mylana Chico • May 10, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mike Romano stated on February 2, 2019 in a tweet: In the state rankings for ACT test scores, West Virginia \"is 30th. Which states are listed in the bottom? 15 states with charter schools.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Mylana Chico • April 4, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Shelley Moore Capito stated on January 22, 2019 in a tweet: \"Thanks to successful federal, state, and local efforts, preliminary statistics show opioid overdose deaths are down 8.5% in West Virginia.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Mylana Chico • February 22, 2019 ### Fact-checking median pay for black, Hispanic, Native American women * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: Video shows Tim Walz “falsely claims that being gay in Nebraska is ‘illegal’\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 10, 2024 in social media posts: Vice President Kamala Harris wore NOVA H1 audio earrings in the Sept. 10, 2024, presidential debate. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 10, 2024 in a debate: “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world, for the first time this century.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 9, 2024 in an X post: \"Dallas County Texas (tells) election workers to (illegally) lie on registration & use a church address to register homeless people to vote!” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 7, 2024 in a post: CNN reported that the Apalachee High School shooting suspect was motivated by a “lack of trans acceptance.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 2, 2024 in an Instagram post: Image shows “Michelle Obama’s necklace from DNC speech” said “Mike.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 10, 2024 in at a Sept. 10 presidential debate: \"In Springfield (Ohio), they\'re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they\'re eating the cats. 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Black women make only around 63 cents while Native American women earn 58 cents and Hispanic women make just 54 cents in comparison to every dollar a man makes