Latinas Overcome Cultural and Economic Barriers to Grow Their Higher Education Numbers

By MARY ANN COOPER
Today’s Hispanic women in higher education and in the workplace have a similar set of challenges as they strive to overcome economic and social barriers to get an education and excel in the professional work force. But the baby boomer generation could be what boosts Latinas into management and executive positions as well as leadership positions in higher education.

The more than 75 million so-called baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are due to retire over the next several years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more than 40 percent of the U.S. labor force will reach retirement age by 2010.

Also, according to the BLS, the percentage of Hispanic women in the U.S. workplace will hit 60.5 percent in 2020 (up 5 percent from its 2005 figure). At the same time, there will be fewer Hispanic males in the work force. BLS estimates that the number of Hispanic men in the work force will drop to 76.9 percent from 80.1 percent. The percentages of White men and White women are also projected to decline during that period (72.9 percent to 69.4 percent for White men and 59.5 percent to 58.8 percent for White women).

The key for Hispanic women to take advantage of these numbers is higher education. Hispanic women have already jumped ahead of Hispanic men as well as non-Hispanic men and women in terms of the increased percentage entering college.

From 2000 to 2004, for example, the number of college-bound Hispanic women increased by 22 percent – 6 percent or more over the increase for Hispanic males and non-White males and females. Now it’s a question of what degrees they are pursuing and the fields they are choosing to rate their chance of dramatically changing the marketplace.

Hispanic women pursing M.B.A.s will undoubtedly take aim at Fortune 500 boardrooms, where Hispanic males have held 70 of the 100 board seats held by Hispanics, according to the January 2007 Boardroom Elite Report from HispanTelligence.

According to BLS, Latina M.B.A.s have a lot of ground to make up as the boomer generation relinquishes its key management positions. BLS reports that only 27 percent of Hispanic women work in management, professional and related occupations as opposed to 30 percent of African-American women, 39 percent of White women and 43 percent of Asian women who do so.

Labor consultants such as the Novations Group predict that these management opportunities for Hispanic women won’t necessarily come in fields such as investment banking, engineering and computer science. The real opportunities will come from companies dealing with consumer products, because of the burgeoning Hispanic consumer buying power, which should reach $1.2 trillion over the next five years.

The advantage of speaking Spanish and English will continue to be a big plus, according to CareerBuilder.com. According to a poll conducted by this online jobs site, more than 10 percent of employers polled reported that they pursue Hispanic employees more actively than other minorities.

While all of this represents good news and opportunity for Hispanic women, there are the elements of backwards walking in high heels to contend with as well.

Hispanic women are still saddled with social and economic barriers to success that include poverty, early motherhood and a machismo culture, according to a study conducted by Brent Cejda, associate professor of educational administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Sheldon Stick, professor of educational administration and an associate professor from the University of Alabama-at Birmingham.

A report issued last year by the Pew Hispanic Center backs up Cejda and Stick’s conclusion that motherhood impedes educational opportunities and aspirations for Hispanic women. Pew concludes that Hispanic women are less educated and earn less than non-Hispanic women.

Hispanic women also have the highest birthrate among all U.S. women. The “fertility rate” of Hispanic women is one-third higher than those who are non-Latina. Cejda and Stick conclude that social attitudes and economic barriers for Latinas can best be overcome by creating partnerships between civic organizations and schools to make families aware of financial opportunities available to them in planning and implementing a higher education plan.

Colleges and universities can also help, they say, by offering prospective students access to scholarships and financial aid while nurturing an atmosphere of academic support and instructors prepared to deal with diverse student populations.

How is higher education meeting the challenges of increasing female Hispanic students and staff?

What follows are charts that offer insight into the journey of Hispanic women through the ranks of higher education – from student to university or college staff member. In every school listed, Hispanic women outnumber Hispanic men, but do so only for special programs and on a limited time basis. A listing of Hispanic Serving institutions with graduate programs indicates that Hispanic women seem to flourish in this environment.

Four-Year Women’s Colleges/Universities – Enrolling Most Hispanic Women
    % students who are Hispanic Women
Alverno College, WI 11%
Barnard College, NY  9%
Bay Path College, MA  9%
Cedar Crest College, PA  6%
College of St. Catherine, MN  3%
College of Saint Elizabeth, NJ

12%
College of Saint Mary, NE  7%
Georgian Court University, NJ  6%
Mills College, CA 12%
Mount Holyoke College, MA  5%
Mount Mary College, WI  6%
Mount St. Mary's College, CA 42%
Pine Manor College, MA 20%
Saint Joseph College, CT  6%
Saint Mary's College, IN  6%
Scripps College, CA  8%
Simmons College, MA  3%
Smith College, MA  6%
Trinity Washington University, DC  7%
Wellesley College, MA  7%
Source: IPEDS – NCES Survey 2007

Conclusion? If current trends continue, Hispanic women will most likely find themselves in the right place at the right time to make great strides in the boardroom, classroom and conference room by the dawn of the next decade.