The State of Latinas

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Whenever I'm on the bus or the train, I see younger Latina girls and wonder where they are headed in their lives.

It's no secret that a large majority of Latinos are on the lower end of the economic scale. Education is always thought of as the answer to economic mobility, but many Latinos do not always get far in their education.

As a Latina woman, I think education is definitely important, especially for women. I only hope that those girls I see on  my way to school everyday have plans to go to college. Although it is not a guarantee, education can help these girls attain a well-paying career. That alone would vastly improve the situation of many Latino families to come.

I bring this up because I came across some facts about Latinas and their status in the United States.

While this is not the complete facts sheet, I'd like to share some of the more interesting and important facts:

Health

• Latina teens experienced historic lows for teen pregnancy in 2012, at 39 percent.
• Seventeen percent of Latina women receive Medicaid, compared to 9 percent for white women.
• Latina women represent 17 percent of new AIDS diagnoses among women.
• Latina women experience unintended pregnancy at twice the rate experienced by white women.

Educational attainment

• College graduation rates for Latinas have increased faster than any other group of women.
• Graduation rates for Latinas were at 31.3 percent in 2008, still significantly lower than graduation rates for white women, at 45.8 percent.
• Only 3 percent of Latina women are represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields, while women in total make up 24 percent of the STEM workforce.

Entrepreneurship

• As of 2013, Latinas owned about 1 out of every 10 women-owned businesses.
• In 2012, data showed that the receipts of Latina-owned businesses totaled $65.7 billion; this is an increase of 180 percent from 1997 to 2013.
• In 2011, 788,000 Latinas ran their own businesses—a 46 percent increase over five years. In comparison, female business owners as a whole only experienced a 20 percent increase over the same period.
• The increase in revenue has been even greater, with Latina-owned businesses earning 57 percent more from 2002 to 2007, when compared with a mere 5 percent increase among all women’s businesses over the same period. Revenue for Latina-owned businesses grows at about 9.5 percent per year.
• Latina women own 36 percent of all companies owned by minority women in America.

Economic security

• Latina women make 88 percent of their male counterparts’ annual full-time earnings.
• Latina women earn $549 per week, compared with white women’s median earnings of $718.
• According to a 2010 study, the median household wealth of single Latina women is $120, compared with single white women’s median household wealth of $41,500. Latina women with children have zero median wealth.
• From 2007 to 2012, the share of Latina women earning at or below minimum wage more than tripled.
• Poverty rates for Latina women, at 27.9 percent, are close to triple those of white women, at 10.8 percent.
• In 2012, the poverty rate for Latina women overall was 27.9 percent, compared with the rate for non-Hispanic white women at 10.8 percent.
• In Latina households, about 4 in 10 working wives were the primary breadwinners for their families, according to a 2010 CAP report. This doubles the rate from 1975.
• Latina women are 69 percent more likely to be incarcerated than white women, according to a 2007 report. In 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union asserted that incarceration particularly affects Latinas and black women as they are often the primary caregivers for their children and are also disproportionately victimized.
• Latinas saw a 14 percent increase in labor-force participation from 1970 to 2007, a notable rise.

Political leadership

• Today, only 9 of the 98 women in Congress are Latina; all serve in the House of Representatives. Five of those nine women represent California.
• Only one Latina has ever served as mayor of one of the nation’s 100 largest cities.
• From 1996 to 2010, the number of Latina elected officials increased by 105 percent.
• In 2010, there were 1,858 Latina elected officials.
• Latinas comprised 32.9 percent of all Latino state senators in 2010; women as a whole only represented 22 percent of state senate seats.
• Of 1,789 female state legislators, 62 are Latina. Latinas in this position represent 22 states.
• Of the 73 women serving in statewide elective executive offices, six are Latina. Five of those six represent New Mexico.

As you can see, there are definitely some advances that Latinas are making, especially in education and political leadership. However, the teen pregnancy facts are still not that great — we can do better! Any amount of progress is good, but it's vital that we keep that progress in motion. One day we can have those numbers in economic security be on our side so that future generations of Latinos can have all the opportunities they can without economic struggles holding them back.