Latinas In The Workplace

What Latina women face in business, and what tools managers need to maximize this important segment of the workforce.

Latinas in the Workplace highlights the stories of eight exceptional women. It is the third book in the Journeys to Leadership series that features stories about extraordinary women who have found paths to success in male-dominated arenas. Even though each took a different route to success, these women share an overarching, almost implicit, understanding of what they aspired to: the freedom to choose where and how to invest time and energy, to establish professional and personal balance, and enjoy the luxury of defining that balance.Despite their different professional aspirations, their journeys are rooted in similar ground tilled long before they entered the work world—a strong sense of family, influential religious traditions, and formidable ties to their cultural heritage. The eight Latinas showcased in this book – a foundation president, two business CEOs, a doctor, a former college president, a teacher and author, and two school superintendents – grew up with a determination to get educated that was fostered by parents and grandparents. All of them hold advanced degrees. Engrained in each of them is a sense of honor, the need to treat others with respect, and an inner strength—qualities nurtured by family members. While each had to contend with negative forces, whether from within or outside their culture, and drew strength from the experience, they also acknowledge that being able to navigate two cultures, and being bilingual, has given them a unique perspective and two distinct ways of dealing with people. Although Latinos constitute one of the fastest growing segments of our population, these Latina leaders represent a relatively small percentage of women in leadership in the United States. They hope that their stories inspire not only their contemporaries but the next generation of Latinas as well. The women profiled in this book are: Sarita Brown, President, Excelencia in Education; Tina Cordova, President, Queston Construction; Sally Garza Fernandez, President, Fernandez Group; Carmella Franco, Superintendent, Woodland California School District; Christine Johnson, former President, Community College of Denver; Thelma López-Lira, M.D.Darline Robles, Executive Officer for the Los Angeles County Office of Education; Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf, Author and Instructor at the State University of New York in Oswego.

This hands-on manual provides Latinas with the tools they need to succeed at work by examining some of the societal and cultural obstacles that hinder their progress. Despite being 20 million strong, Latinas represent America's most undervalued human resource. This career guide is the only one of its kind to focus specifically on empowering the working women of the Latina community to embrace success and build skills for workplace advancement. The Latina's Guide to Success in the Workplace explores the complexity of the Hispanic/Latino identity and the impact of this culture on professional mobility. The author asserts that there are five obstacles which Latinas confront within their own belief system: the idea that women do not need an education; the assumption that the needs of men come first; a belief that it is sinful to desire money; the opinion that Latinas should not be ambitious; and the mindset that successful women in the United States lose their femininity. Throughout the book, up-to-date research, case studies, and inspirational interviews offer strategies for overcoming the cultural factors that limit Latinas and providing a roadmap for achieving success.

The first book on supporting and developing Hispanic employees in any organization Identifies three overarching concepts that shape Hispanic culture and explores how they influence workplace behavior and expectations Written by a distinguished Hispanic author and authority on Hispanic economic behavior Hispanics are the largest minority group and the fastest growing demographic in the United States—they are already 15% of the population and 22% of the workforce, and it’s estimated that by 2050 those numbers will go up to 36% and 55% In this much-needed new book Louis Naevar helps non-Hispanic employers and colleagues understand how Hispanics see the business world—and the world in general—so they can better support and develop this dynamic group of workers. Drawing on his own ethnic background and years of experience as director of the organization Hispanic Economics, Nevaer identifies three concepts that shape Hispanic culture and often result in behaviors and beliefs very different than, and sometimes seemingly at odds with, those of non-Hispanics. He explores subtle nuances within the Hispanic community—which is no more monolithic than the “European” community—that will help employers appreciate differences and tensions between Hispanic workers. With this as an overarching framework, and using a wealth of specific examples, Nevaer shows how to develop Hispanic-friendly approaches in every aspect of the modern workplace, from recruitment, retention and evaluation to training, mentoring, and labor relations. As Hispanics become an ever-larger segment of the workforce, organizations who fail to make them feel welcome and valued risk losing access to a significant source of talent and innovation, not to mention a connection to a major evolving market. Managing Hispanic and Latino Employees is an invaluable resource for creating an environment where Hispanic workers feel comfortable, recognized and rewarded.

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States and are filling an increasingly significant portion of the work force. However, despite theses facts, little or no research has been conducted to date to address this issue. Until now. The first in its field, Hispanics in the Workplace presents a comprehensive exploration of Hispanic employment factors, problems at work, and work in the government and private sectors. Contributors include notable researchers who uncover such specific topics as entry into employment, work force characteristics, recruiting and selection, training and development, special problems of women, job satisfaction, stress management, the work ethic, stereotyping, and language barriers. They address various opportunities and problems of Hispanics as they relate to the military, civilians in the military, the private sector, and entrepreneurs. If you are a professional, academic, or student of management, organizational studies, sociology, human resources, and/or ethnic studies, who wants to stay on the cutting edge of the field, then this pathbreaker is for you

This hands-on manual provides Latinas with the tools they need to succeed at work by examining some of the societal and cultural obstacles that hinder their progress. Despite being 20 million strong, Latinas represent America's most undervalued human resource. This career guide is the only one of its kind to focus specifically on empowering the working women of the Latina community to embrace success and build skills for workplace advancement. The Latina's Guide to Success in the Workplace explores the complexity of the Hispanic/Latino identity and the impact of this culture on professional mobility. The author asserts that there are five obstacles which Latinas confront within their own belief system: the idea that women do not need an education; the assumption that the needs of men come first; a belief that it is sinful to desire money; the opinion that Latinas should not be ambitious; and the mindset that successful women in the United States lose their femininity. Throughout the book, up-to-date research, case studies, and inspirational interviews offer strategies for overcoming the cultural factors that limit Latinas and providing a roadmap for achieving success.

In 2003, Latinos became the largest minority group in the United States and according to the Census Bureau they will represent close to 25 percent of the population by 2050. Latinos currently have the highest rate of employment of any U.S. minority and in five years their role in the American labor force will be even more prominent than it is now. Latino Culture is the first book to fully explore the nuances of Latino culture in the workplace. Written by Nilda Chong - recently named as one of 80 "Elite Latinas" by Hispanic Business magazine - and Francia Baez, Latino Culture is for mainstre.

One of Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Books of 1999 Accepted wisdom about the opportunities available to African American and Latina women in the U.S. labor market has changed dramatically. Although the 1970s saw these women earning almost as much as their white counterparts, in the 1980s their relative wages began falling behind, and the job prospects plummeted for those with little education and low skills. At the same time, African American women more often found themselves the sole support of their families. While much social science research has centered on the problems facing black male workers, Latinas and African American Women at Work offers a comprehensive investigation into the eroding progress of these women in the U.S. labor market. The prominent sociologists and economists featured in this volume describe how race and gender intersect to especially disadvantage black and Latina women. Their inquiries encompass three decades of change for women at all levels of the workforce, from those who spend time on the welfare rolls to middle class professionals. Among the many possible sources of increased disadvantage, they particularly examine the changing demands for skills, increasing numbers of immigrants in the job market, the precariousness of balancing work and childcare responsibilities, and employer discrimination. While racial inequity in hiring often results from educational differences between white and minority women, this cannot explain the discrimination faced by women with higher skills. Minority women therefore face a two-tiered hurdle based on race and gender. Although the picture for young African American women has grown bleaker overall, for Latina women, the story is more complex, with a range of economic outcomes among Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Central and South Americans. Latinas and African American Women at Work reveals differences in how professional African American and white women view their position in the workforce, with black women perceiving more discrimination, for both race and gender, than whites. The volume concludes with essays that synthesize the evidence about racial and gender-based obstacles in the labor market. Given the current heated controversy over female and minority employment, as well as the recent sweeping changes to the national welfare system, the need for empirical data to inform the public debate about disadvantaged women is greater than ever before. The important findings in Latinas and African American Women at Work substantially advance our understanding of social inequality and the pervasive role of race, ethnicity and gender in the economic well-being of American women.