SALT LAKE CITY — This week marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Equal Pay Day. Women in these groups face some of the largest wage gaps in the country.

Vaianna “Vee” Fiso works at Nightingale College, an online nursing school in Salt Lake City, but at one time she juggled two other jobs.

“I was working at Buffalo Wild Wings, Nightingale and a snow cone shack,” Fiso said.

The first-generation Samoan-American takes care of her grandmother, mother and younger siblings.

“In the Polynesian culture, it’s kind of expected that the eldest girl takes care of the family,” Fiso said.

With bills piling up, burnout and stress set in for the 23-year-old.

“While trying to save for my wedding, and also take care of my family, I couldn’t afford it,” Fiso said.

On average, Asian American and Pacific Islander women are typically paid just 80 cents per dollar earned by white men, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

When you break it down for Samoan women like Fiso, that number goes down to 53 cents.

A study by The Utah State University Women & Leadership Project said, “The yearly median personal income for Utah Pacific Islander women ($20,670) is slightly higher than Utah women generally ($19,245), which contrasts national trends with U.S. women having a higher median income ($23,106) than U.S. Pacific Islander women ($20,447). Similarly, the median personal wage of Pacific Islander women in Utah is slightly higher than for all other Utah women ($30,762 vs. $28,374) and for household income ($78,313 vs. $70,838). However, Pacific Islander women in Utah face greater rates of poverty (11.8% vs. 10.8%), which matches national trends.”

Fiso said there really wasn’t a chance for her to quit. That all changed when Nightingale announced in August they were raising the minimum wage to $25 for all employees.

“I remember sitting next to my best friend who was working here at the time. Both of us just started crying,” Fiso said.

Mikhail Shneyder is the founder & CEO of Nightingale College.

“All we’re doing is proving the thing that’s been known for such a long time is that the more that you contribute into your people, the more you will get out of them,” said Mikhail Shneyder, founder & CEO of Nightingale College.

Fiso was promoted to office manager and quit her other two jobs.

“It’s changed my life a lot in the sense that one I can provide for my family without stressing. And two my health has gone up significantly,” Fiso said.

It’s carved a new path for her family to thank them for the sacrifice they made to leave Samoa for a better life in America.

“I’ve never been more proud to be a Polynesian woman,” Fiso said. “I’m making big steps in the world.”