Low Wages and Lack of Benefits Continue to Limit Economic Gains of the Nearly 7.7 Million Hispanic Women Workers

Houston, TX – Today, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., released its first statistical brief to examine the employment status of the nearly 20 million Latinas living in the U.S. The analysis, Hispanic Women at Work, released in conjunction with NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguia's keynote address during the 30th Annual Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) Women’s Luncheon in Houston, TX, concludes that Hispanic women play a major role in the economic well-being of Hispanic households and are a growing influence in the nation’s overall workforce.

“This brief shows the significant contributions that Latina workers are making, not only to the financial growth and security of their households, but also to our economy,” said Murguia. “For example, in 2003, the median income of married-couple Hispanic families was 85.2% higher when the female spouse was in the paid labor force."

“Latinas are also making their mark in management and professional positions,” noted Murguia. “Among Hispanic workers, 22% of women compared to 14% of men are in these types of jobs – a proportion that has increased over the past decade. These management-level occupations, such as financial services, marketing and sales, and medical and health services, tend to be stable and provide opportunities for advancement. Based on the recently released 2002 Economic Census estimates, Latina-owned businesses contributed $36.3 billion to the U.S. economy in 2002, and since nearly half (47.3%) of Hispanics of working age are women, we will continue to see an increase of Latinas in different segments of the workforce over the next decade.”

“These highlights show the potential of Latinas and what we can do to make advances for our community and our country, but we also know that there are many Latina workers who continue to face challenges to economic success,” explained Murguia. As the brief notes, there are two particular areas of concern for Hispanic women workers:

“It is troubling that Latina workers are earning less than other women in the same fields. I encourage the nonprofit, public, and private sectors to understand and address these disparities that hurt not only the Latino community but all workers,” advised Murguia. “We also know that access to health care and saving for retirement are not ‘benefits,’ but absolute necessities in our society if we want to foster economic security,” continued Murguia.

Between 2002 and 2012, it is estimated that the number of Latinas in the labor force will grow by 2.8 million, accounting for 28.8% of the growth for all women workers. "Given demographic changes and the growing importance of Latinas to their families and the U.S. economy, we must work together to ensure that Hispanic women have the same opportunities as other workers to enter the workforce and advance once they are there,” Murguia concluded.

For more information and to receive a copy of the eight-page statistical brief Hispanic Women at Work, please visit www.nclr.org or contact Alexandra Jost at ajost@nclr.org or (202) 785-1670.

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