Bethany Mota (@bethanynoelm)
Photo by Los Muertos Crew
Professionalism has been defined to me in a myriad of ways, but I distinctly remember being told once early on in one of my first office jobs that my facial expressions were “unprofessional” and “overly expressive” for the nature of my role.
This feedback was met by me with confusion. After all, what does my face have to do with being a professional? I soon realized that this feedback was given by a coworker of mine who frequently engaged in microaggressions towards me, her attributing my normally loud voice, clothing, hairstyle, direct communication style, and overall expressiveness to me being “such a Latina.”
I’ve had this conversation a lot recently with my friends. We’re finding that although we’ve always worked to be in professional roles, we’re also finding out that these “amazing” jobs we’re given aren’t all they appear to be.
Many of us grew up in homes where going to college and landing a professional job would be considered the pinnacle of success. To many Latine and immigrant parents, having their children occupy professional spaces complete with degrees and fancy benefits is the ultimate dream.
However, once we’re in these spaces, many of us discover that we’re not in a place to express anything negative with either the work or the office, only to be told “be grateful for having a job like yours, mija!”
Expressing any of this means running the risk of being dismissed as too picky and being told to be grateful for the opportunities. But doing so means we’re compromising some of the best skills in our professional toolbox: autonomy to make decisions and advocate for ourselves.
I’m far from the only Latina who has been told to deal with mistreatment from employers and that I should be happy to be included. Which is why we need to redefine how professionalism works for us.
It’s time to set the record straight on why Latina professionals shouldn’t be grateful to just be included in these spaces.
Latinas are setting the new normal of what it means to be an accomplished professional through advocacy for our working lives. Being a professional woman, especially a Latina, doesn’t mean we let ourselves become doormats to our employers. Inclusivity isn’t a reason to take mistreatment or abuse from an employer.
With a good title and salary also comes stress, obligations, and an overcommitment to work and situations we weren’t initially prepared to navigate. The leadership skills we develop can end up being reframed as too “aggressive,” while being expected to adjust to microaggressions and workloads that don’t give us any space to exist outside of our jobs. On top of all of this, the shiny benefits like paid time off don’t actually get used when we’re stressfully checking emails after working hours.
There’s real value in being a Latina professional that’s able to advocate for herself. This includes joining Latino-focused, professional development groups, finding an online community to network, working to create your own spaces/groups in your field for others, and forming camaraderie among your professional contacts that are feeling just as displaced as you are.
While I will always disagree with the notion that Latinas need to be expected to say “gracias!” for even having a space at the table, I know it’s important to use our positions of power to make sure there’s a seat for the ones coming after.
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LDC Latina Initiative Press
The Latino Donor Collaborative launched the LDC Latina Initiative in New York City on November 19th, 2024. The history-making initiative aims to empower Latinas through cutting-edge reports, impactful events, and transformative programs. It also serves to uplift Latina voices and pave the way for a new era of leadership and innovation. The initiative comes at a crucial time, as recent economic data highlights the immense and growing impact of Latinas on the U.S. economy and culture.
The Economic Powerhouse of Latinas
The Latina GDP 2024 Report reveals a staggering economic contribution by Latinas, with their GDP reaching $1.3 trillion in 2021. To put this into perspective, if U.S. Latinas were their own country, their economic output would surpass that of major economies like Italy or Canada. This figure is part of the broader U.S. Latino GDP, which the 2023 LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report values at $3.2 trillion, ranking it as the fifth largest GDP in the world if it were an independent nation.
The growth rate of the Latina GDP is particularly impressive, expanding by 51.1% from 2010 to 2021, more than doubling the growth rate of the non-Hispanic GDP. This rapid expansion demonstrates that Latinas aren’t just participating in the economy; they are actively driving its growth and resilience.
Some highlights of the ways Latinas continue to make significant strides in the labor market and education include:
- The workforce participation rate for Latinas stands at 60.5%, surpassing that of non-Hispanic women.
- Latinas account for 30.2% of the total labor force growth since 2010.
- The number of Latinas with bachelor's degrees increased by 103% from 2010 to 2021, three times the growth rate of non-Hispanic women.
- Latinos (representing 19% of the U.S. population) were responsible for 39% of GDP growth in the U.S. during 2020 and 2021.
These achievements are particularly noteworthy given the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Need for the LDC Latina Initiative
Despite these impressive achievements, challenges remain. The persistent wage gap and underrepresentation in leadership roles indicate that there's still work to be done to ensure equal opportunities for Latinas. This is where the LDC Latina Initiative becomes crucial.
The initiative aims to address several key areas:
- Addressing Gender Disparities: By focusing on the unique challenges Latinas face in the workplace and entrepreneurship, the initiative can help break down barriers to success.
- Empowering Future Leaders: Nurturing the next generation of Latina leaders in business, politics, and other fields will further enhance the community's impact on the U.S. economy and society.
- Leveraging Untapped Potential: Empowering Latinas can unlock additional economic potential within the already thriving Latino community, potentially accelerating overall economic growth.
- Promoting Diversity and Inclusion: Supporting Latinas contributes to broader efforts of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and society at large.
The Broader Impact on U.S. Prosperity
Supporting Latinas through initiatives like the LDC Latina Initiative isn’t just beneficial for Latinas themselves but is crucial for the overall prosperity of the United States. As Sonia M. Pérez, Chief Operating Officer at UnidosUS, stated in an interview with Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, "Latinos are significant contributors to our country’s history, are integral to strengthening our democracy, and it is crucial to make sure that Latinos have a voice.”
The economic data presented in both the Latina GDP 2024 Report and the 2023 LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report underscores this point. With Latinas driving a significant portion of U.S. economic growth, initiatives that support and empower this community are investments in the nation's economic future.
As the data clearly shows, Latina success is American success.
Sol Trujillo, co-founder and chairman of the Latino Donor Collaborative, emphasizes the importance of Latino contributions in the 2023 LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report: "Essentially, in many regions of the U.S., a Latino worker is more often than not filling a new job vacancy. At a time when our nation is experiencing tight labor markets and employment gaps, Latinos have provided the human capital needed to keep the economy running".
By extension, initiatives supporting Latinas are providing the support needed to keep this vital economic engine not just running, but accelerating into the future. The LDC Latina Initiative isn’t just about addressing disparities; it's about unleashing the full potential of a demographic that is already driving significant economic growth.
Ana Valdez, President and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative emphasized, “Latinas are transforming the fabric of society—leading businesses, reshaping industries, driving innovation in media, and raising the next generation of Latino leaders [...].” As we look to the future, it's clear that empowering Latinas through initiatives like the LDC Latina Initiative isn’t just the right thing to do—it's an economic imperative. By supporting Latinas, we're investing in a stronger, more resilient, and more prosperous America for all.
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Image by Krakenimages.com - Shutterstock
Kinkeeping refers to all activities related to maintaining family relationships, passing down traditions, and remembering the family’s heritage. This includes things like cooking, sharing food recipes, teaching stories, crafts and duties, contacting family members, and even organizing events to keep in touch with relatives.
During the holidays, that can mean planning get-togethers, cooking dinners, and organizing gift-giving or card-giving. In “Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions,” Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee state that the usually related tasks to kinkeeping “are time-consuming and involve emotional work that is not easily quantified,” which makes it even harder to recognize as legitimate labor that causes exhaustion just as any other labor causes, and that is also distinct from more commonly known house work.
Grandmothers, mothers, and daughters are constantly reminded of their place in the family and the responsibility to maintain and support relationships. Kinkeeping is just another form of care that falls on their shoulders. The general care work represents 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work every day. When valued at minimum wage, this would represent a contribution to the global economy of at least $10.8 trillion a year, more than three times the size of the global tech industry.
Since the emotional labor of maintaining relationships with the family usually relies on women, this adds another layer of pressure to be the ones who are there for other family members. They’re also responsible for passing down cherished family and cultural traditions that keep heritage going.
So how does Kinkeeping affect Latina Women?
Latina culture relies heavily on maintaining family ties. And oftentimes, women are taught to prioritize household tasks like cooking and cleaning for the benefit of maintaining the family. This is ingrained in mothers and what they should teach their daughters. They are in charge every time the family needs to gather for anything.
In addition, we are also now seeing more financial expectations placed on Latina women to take care of their families, adding more stress to their lives through additional worrying and even more demands of their time. COVID-19 made these burdens Latina moms face to be there for their families crystal clear.
If mothers, daughters, and abuelas don’t organize to keep families together, a likely outcome is that families begin to drift apart. Anecdotally, we hear of situations like this when family matriarchs pass away. The family gathers less and only gathers when tías celebrate birthdays or when the other women make it a point to celebrate something. The tíos and other men never seem to think about seeing each other and getting the family together.
The problem isn’t so much about having to maintain family relationships, but more so about the fact that women are usually the only ones doing it and are expected to do so. In “A Binding Tie: Supportive Communication of Family Kinkeepers,” Margaret S. Leach and Dawn O. Braithwaite report that 72% of the kinkeepers in families are women, confirming that is a task that is attributed to women.
Aside from other responsibilities, women are carrying the emotional toll and feeling guilt around decisions that affect the family.
And in Latino culture, where closeness in the family is so valued, many Latinas lose academic or professional opportunities in order to avoid being physically distanced or emotionally unavailable. When Latinas are required to be the emotional support no matter the circumstance, they are too often forced to deprioritize themselves and their goals, making kinkeeping a topic that should no longer go unrecognized and not understood.
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