"One challenge in dealing with immigrant populations is that they do not want to create waves," Bensor said. "There's a reluctancy on their part to actually pursue and file complaints. They want to stay under the radar."

Hispanics, particularly women, are highly concentrated in service occupations, such as food preparation, cleaning and maintenance, according to an analysis of census data by Pam Perlich, research economist at the University of Utah. However, when it comes to construction, Hispanic men are much more likely to be on the job, the analysis shows.

While Hispanic men and women aren't much different when it comes to education levels, men are more likely to work in higher paying segments of the blue collar occupations, adds Rakesh Kochar, the Pew Hispanic Center's associate research director.

For example, carpenters made a median $19.84 and construction laborers made $14.88, according to May 2007 national wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Maids and housekeepers, meanwhile, earned a median $8.82 an hour.

"All those categories of work traditionally are at the low end of the scale because of the nature of the business; less skill is required," said Vives of NOW. "Employers are not looking for skill, they are looking for labor that these women offer at any pay for the most part. They are desperately wanting to work to make a living here and help their families at home."

There tends to be, among at least some immigrant Hispanic couples, disagreement over whether the women should earn as much money as men.

Maurcio Carmona, originally from Mexico City, is the bread-winner in his family. He works for a carpet-cleaning company while his wife, Rosa Carmona, stays at home with the three children.

"If the guy makes more money, that's good because then he can support the family," he said.

But Rosa disagrees. She formerly worked as a certified nursing assistant, making $9 an hour before quitting when her last baby was born. She remembers a male colleague earned $2 more an hour than her, with just six months more experience.

"I think it's just discrimination," she said, noting that in her view women are shut out of high-paying jobs.

"We can do construction jobs," she said. "They just don't let us."

The Utah census data show more than 60 percent of Hispanic men worked in construction, extraction or maintenance, compared with only roughly 2 percent of women.

While women have made some headway in construction, the field is still largely dominated by men, said Vives, adding women may be denied job opportunities simply because of their gender.

"There is a bias for any woman in construction," Vives said. "It is traditionally a man's job, and traditionally it is viewed as such."