Posts Tagged: women
Latinas leading the way
“I never really questioned the fact that I was going to go to college. I didn't really think there were other options.”
For Gaby Díaz Quiñones '17, the idea of attending college was always assumed and influenced a great deal by her mother's completion of a bachelor's degree, she told the HPR. Díaz Quiñones's circumstance—being a Latina in college with a mother who also went to college—may not seem out of the ordinary now. However, it is distinctly at odds with the realities facing Latinas several decades ago.
The story of the rise in Latina college enrollment rates is one that encompasses both the struggles of women and Hispanics generally to attend college. Latinas have benefited from American society's acceptance of women attending college as well as from shifting cultural norms within the Latino community. In more recent times, Hispanic women have also benefitted from the dismantling of barriers that have held back all Hispanics. The result has been a significant improvement in college enrollment rates.
Decades of Change
On March 8, 1968, educational reformer Sal Castro led thousands of Latino and Latina students belonging to a handful of East Los Angeles public schools to walk out of class in protest of the unfair conditions hindering them from reaching their goals of attending college. These students demanded a restructuring of the public education system so that they could take college preparatory classes. Following these walkouts, reforms were initiated to place more Latinos on the college track. The walkouts proved to be a crucial first step in the movement to promote college education for Latinos as whole.
As America broadly opened up to the idea of women attending college, so did many Latino families. In 1976, women made up 47.25 percent of students in undergraduate programs across the nation. Hispanic women trailed slightly, making up 45.36 percent of all Hispanics in undergraduate programs. Only four years later, in 1980, the percentage of women had surpassed the percentage of men enrolled in undergraduate programs. The Latina/Latino ratio also flipped. The trend has persisted; data from 2013 indicates that women make up 56.51 percent of those enrolled in undergraduate programs, with Hispanic women representing 57.73 percent of all Hispanics in undergraduate programs. The comparison is striking. In the face of greater cultural obstacles, Latina women, after accounting for ethnicity, now matriculate at a proportion greater than their non-Hispanic peers.
Not only has the ratio of women to men in college improved for Hispanic women, the absolute percentage of women that are Hispanic and enrolled in college has risen substantially. In 1980, Hispanic women constituted 4.1 percent of all women enrolled in college undergraduate programs at a time when Hispanics made up 6.4 percent of the U.S. population. Just over three decades later, in 2013, Hispanic women constituted 17.2 percent of all women enrolled in college undergraduate programs. Seeing as Hispanics constituted 17 percent of the nation's total population in 2013, this percentage indicates that Hispanic women have made impressive gains in college enrollment.
As the data above suggests, women have, for the past several decades, broken past the stereotypes that once put them behind men in terms of college enrollment. However, to say that Latina enrollment has risen simply because Latinas followed the national trend for women in general would be to overlook several key aspects in their progress and challenges that they still face.
Early Determination
Many of the factors that have raised Latina college enrollment have raised the overall Latino rate of college enrollment. Among the contributing factors, the role of lingual assimilation is still a highly debated topic. Some argue that the use of Spanish at home inhibits students from doing well in an English-based educational system. Others argue that bilingualism actually expands the lingual abilities of students and helps them perform better in school. Numerous studies have noted that children of all ethnicities have better educational outcomes when their parents promote literacy with them at young ages, through such activities as reading out loud or visiting libraries. A National Center for Biotechnology Information report found that Latino parents who spoke English at home were more likely to participate in these literacy activities with their children. However, children who were read to in Spanish were later able to employ the reading techniques they learned when reading in English. This casts doubt as to whether the use of the Spanish language at home is an inhibiting factor.
Claims that using Spanish in the household inhibit the ability of children to do well in school may be confounded with other variables. Latino families that speak Spanish at home are more likely to be recent immigrants, have lower levels of education and income, and/or live in disadvantaged communities with lower resources. These factors may play a larger role in influencing the educational success of Latinos and Latinas. According to one Pew Research Center study, 18 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics 25 years of age or older have obtained a college degree, whereas only 10.6 percent of foreign-born Hispanics 25 years of age or older have obtained a college degree. The gap may be attributed to the fact that native-born Hispanics may have a better cultural understanding of the United States and may be better able to navigate the educational system of the United States. Furthermore, the U.S.-born children of immigrants often tend to outperform their parents in terms of average income level, another significant factor in educational attainment. Altogether, these data indicate that the educational attainment of Hispanics will continue to improve as future generations of Hispanics continue the process of assimilation and build upon the success of their predecessors.
Another possible contributing factor to the educational success of children is parent-teacher communication. Harvard Professor María Luisa Parra studied such communication during her time at Tufts University. Dr. Parra told the HPR that as coordinator of a program that aided and analyzed Latino families transitioning their children into kindergarten called the Home-School Connection Program, “The main factor that I saw playing as a key to success for these children was the relationship between parents and teachers. Some of the parents and teachers could communicate in English, but there were some underlying cultural values and beliefs about education that were getting in the way of that communication.” Thus, there is an inherently important role to be played by the common understanding between parents and teachers of educational paths and goals.
Reaching Higher Ed
The financial resources of Latino parents have significant effects on their ability to support their children in their educational pursuits. Households with higher incomes tend to have more educated parents. This in turn means that parents from higher-income households may be better able to help their children navigate the educational system and college application process. Importantly, income level may play a role in how optimistically parents promote the idea of going to college. As Vanessa Cárdenas of the Center for American Progress told the HPR, “The financial aspect of [college] is a huge barrier . . . and even once people get into college, making sure you're not worried from semester to semester whether you can afford it [is another potential barrier].” Díaz Quiñones admitted to facing this challenge, noting that, “something that was really important to me was going somewhere that could fully cover my financial need. When I was making my list of colleges, a lot of them I took out just because they only offered 80 percent financial need.” Díaz Quiñones' story is just one of many highlighting how the lack of college affordability can be a deterrent to college enrollment. However, the steady rise in Latino and Latina college enrollment rates indicates that more Latinos and Latinas are being placed on the path to higher-paying jobs. This in turn will aid them in one day supporting their children in their educational pursuits.
Even if Latino families are able to overcome financial barriers and support their children in their educational pursuits, a myriad other obstacles face Latinos and Latinas once they enter college. As Cárdenas mentioned, “Figuring out how to succeed in college, having the support network, and figuring out the college culture” are all challenges that college students face. These obstacles are even further magnified for those Latinos and Latinas that are first-generation college students, as these students often lack the same guidance and support that non first-generation students receive from their parents. The struggle of adjusting to the college culture has contributed to a push at many colleges, including Harvard, to set up support networks and mentorship programs for Latinos and Latinas. While these programs help bridge the gap between enrollment and graduation, according to one study, only 41 percent of Latino students graduated within 150 percent of program time for first-time, full-time freshmen, as compared to 50 percent of all students.
While Hispanics in general face a number of barriers to college entrance and graduation, perhaps the most distinct barrier Latinas have specifically encountered is the barrier presented by cultural beliefs. Decades ago, many traditional Hispanic families believed that women should stay at home and act as homemakers until finding a husband. In contrast, the idea of leaving home to stay at a residential college was often seen as a “dangerous” idea to traditional Latino families. At best, some Latinas were able to attend junior college because it offered them the opportunity to still live at home. While it is true that more Hispanics are now attending colleges with four-year bachelors programs, research has shown that Hispanic students are still more likely to enroll in associate-level college programs that are located close their families. Furthermore, studies have shown that Hispanics in general prefer to live at home while attending college as compared to students of other ethnicities. These reports indicate that while cultural barriers have been lowered, some Latinas still face pressures to stay close to their families. However, as the aforementioned data suggests, the gradual lowering of this cultural barrier has already had significant effects on improving Latina college enrollment rates. This steady rise in Latina college enrollment rates is promising, yet at the moment only 13.9 percent of all U.S. Hispanics age 25 or older can attest to being college graduates. Thus, while Hispanics, especially female Hispanics, have made impressive gains in terms of college enrollment and graduation rates, much remains to be done if more Latinos and Latinas are to attain college degrees.
Source: Published originally on Harvard Political Review as Latinas Leading the Way by Christopher Cruz May 16, 2015.
Hispanic women's upbeat outlook may boost heart health
Hispanic women tend to exercise less and fret less about their weight than white women, and their heart disease risks are also lower, a new study suggests.
Examining data from female employees of a Miami-based health system, researchers theorized that a more upbeat attitude among Hispanic women might contribute to their better cardiovascular health.
Hispanic women logged more favorable results in 10 of 12 heart conditions and risk factors -- such as high blood pressure or cholesterol -- than non-Hispanic women, according to the research, published April 29 in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
"Obviously, this group has something that is set apart," said study author Emir Veledar, a biostatistician at Baptist Health South Florida in Miami.
"There is no difference among all these women in knowledge, but in positive attitude," he added. "Hispanic women are more satisfied with their jobs and their lives. They don't think they need to get more exercise; they have good or excellent health, and they're happy with their weight."
This so-called "Hispanic paradox," Veledar said, extends to the significant gap in average life expectancies between Hispanic and white women. Female Hispanics in the United States are expected to live for 87 years, about six years longer than white females.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults of both genders and all races, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly 422,000 American women die of heart disease each year.
Veledar and his colleagues studied annual health-fair and test results gathered from nearly 7,700 female employees at Baptist Health South Florida. Of those, more than half were Hispanic.
Nearly two dozen measures of cardiovascular health were examined, including blood pressure, blood sugar levels and body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height. The women's knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors was assessed and they were also asked about their attitudes about their job, weight and desire for more exercise.
With equal access to health care and benefits because of their shared employment situation, the women had notably different cardiovascular risk factors. Not only did Hispanics have lower rates of type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, they reported job and life satisfaction in greater numbers, the investigators found.
More than half of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women wished to lose weight, but that number was about 54 percent among Hispanics and nearly 60 percent among non-Hispanics. Fewer Hispanics wished to get more exercise -- less than 33 percent compared to over 37 percent, the findings showed.
Veledar said there's no way to know if a more upbeat attitude among Hispanic women has any direct relationship to their better cardiovascular risk profile, but he said all ethnicities could benefit from a "balance in attitude."
Dr. Miguel Quinones, chairman of cardiology at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, said research has long linked lower stress levels -- which can be influenced by a positive attitude -- with lower heart disease risks.
"There's no question that stress is one of the factors that modifies whether someone who is at risk for heart disease presents with heart disease," said Quinones, who wasn't involved with the new research. "For Hispanic women, if they have a less stressful environment because their family and cultural life is better, that may potentially be good."
Quinones explained that female Hispanics' lower heart risks likely have little to do with shared genetics, since Hispanics' roots may be, among others, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, African or European.
"Ethnicity does not equal race," he said.
Quinones also noted that the association between an upbeat attitude and improved cardiovascular health does not mean the former caused the latter.
Source: Published originally on HealthDay.com as HispanicWomen's Upbeat Outlook May Boost Heart Health by Maureen Salamon. April 29, 2015.
Hispanic women's upbeat outlook may boost heart health
Hispanic women tend to exercise less and fret less about their weight than white women, and their heart disease risks are also lower, a new study suggests.
Examining data from female employees of a Miami-based health system, researchers theorized that a more upbeat attitude among Hispanic women might contribute to their better cardiovascular health.
Hispanic women logged more favorable results in 10 of 12 heart conditions and risk factors -- such as high blood pressure or cholesterol -- than non-Hispanic women, according to the research, published April 29 in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
"Obviously, this group has something that is set apart," said study author Emir Veledar, a biostatistician at Baptist Health South Florida in Miami.
"There is no difference among all these women in knowledge, but in positive attitude," he added. "Hispanic women are more satisfied with their jobs and their lives. They don't think they need to get more exercise; they have good or excellent health, and they're happy with their weight."
This so-called "Hispanic paradox," Veledar said, extends to the significant gap in average life expectancies between Hispanic and white women. Female Hispanics in the United States are expected to live for 87 years, about six years longer than white females.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults of both genders and all races, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly 422,000 American women die of heart disease each year.
Veledar and his colleagues studied annual health-fair and test results gathered from nearly 7,700 female employees at Baptist Health South Florida. Of those, more than half were Hispanic.
Nearly two dozen measures of cardiovascular health were examined, including blood pressure, blood sugar levels and body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height. The women's knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors was assessed and they were also asked about their attitudes about their job, weight and desire for more exercise.
With equal access to health care and benefits because of their shared employment situation, the women had notably different cardiovascular risk factors. Not only did Hispanics have lower rates of type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, they reported job and life satisfaction in greater numbers, the investigators found.
More than half of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women wished to lose weight, but that number was about 54 percent among Hispanics and nearly 60 percent among non-Hispanics. Fewer Hispanics wished to get more exercise -- less than 33 percent compared to over 37 percent, the findings showed.
Veledar said there's no way to know if a more upbeat attitude among Hispanic women has any direct relationship to their better cardiovascular risk profile, but he said all ethnicities could benefit from a "balance in attitude."
Dr. Miguel Quinones, chairman of cardiology at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, said research has long linked lower stress levels -- which can be influenced by a positive attitude -- with lower heart disease risks.
"There's no question that stress is one of the factors that modifies whether someone who is at risk for heart disease presents with heart disease," said Quinones, who wasn't involved with the new research. "For Hispanic women, if they have a less stressful environment because their family and cultural life is better, that may potentially be good."
Quinones explained that female Hispanics' lower heart risks likely have little to do with shared genetics, since Hispanics' roots may be, among others, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, African or European.
"Ethnicity does not equal race," he said.
Quinones also noted that the association between an upbeat attitude and improved cardiovascular health does not mean the former caused the latter.
Source: Published originally on HealthDay.com as HispanicWomen's Upbeat Outlook May Boost Heart Health by Maureen Salamon. April 29, 2015.
Health Outcomes of Mexican Immigrant Women in the United States
According to a report from the Migration Information Source, exclusion of unauthorized Mexican immigrants from the US public health system has not deterred migration, which is primarily driven by the demand for labor. It has, however, contributed to deepening social inequities in access to health care.
The Mexican immigrant population in the United States, in particular, experiences an unfavorable process of socioeconomic integration and, as a result, is less likely to be covered by health insurance programs, which is a major determinant in accessing medical services and enjoying long-term good health. Enrollment of Mexican immigrant women in US public health programs, in particular, is at a low level — 15 percent in 2012, according to the National Population Council of Mexico.
Demographic and Socioeconomic Overview
Mexican women comprise the largest female immigrant group in the United States. In 2011, there were 5.4 million Mexican women, constituting 47 percent of the Mexican immigrant population in the United States, according to the American Community Survey (ACS).
The composition in age and family structure of the female Mexican population emphasizes the need for reproductive, maternal, and child health services. In comparison with other female groups, Mexican women are concentrated in the middle ages of the life cycle. Eighty-six percent are between the ages of 18 and 64 years.
Mexican immigrants in general are characterized by an elevated rate of lack of legal status — 59 percent of the US unauthorized population was born in Mexico, according to 2011 estimates. Women made up 47 percent of all unauthorized immigrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics. Mexican immigrant women also had the lowest level of participation in the formal labor market. This situation is even more acute for working women with children under the age of 6 (about 35 percent), an indication that they face greater difficulty in reconciling work and child care.
Health Coverage and Use of Health Services
The Affordable Care Act signed into law in March 2010 incorporated millions of people previously excluded from the health system. However, federal law prohibits unauthorized immigrants, as well as immigrants with fewer than five years of legal residence, from accessing public benefits.
Women's use of health services varies by ethnic/racial group, age, health needs, socioeconomic and cultural factors, and technological, linguistic, and migratory factors, among others. Levels of health insurance coverage in the United States are related to processes of socioeconomic integration that also vary by ethnicity/race and migratory status. Marginalization of certain immigrant minorities is associated with exclusion from the health system.
Mexican immigrant women in the United States generally face obstacles in accessing the health insurance system. More than half lack any type of health coverage.
Mexican women are less likely to benefit from public programs for low-income families, in large part because they have not naturalized or have not completed five years of legal residence. It is not surprising that Mexican women in this situation, especially those who lack legal status, tend to delay the diagnosis or treatment of disease, and in cases where they must call on hospital centers, may face financial crisis.
The Immigrant Paradox: Health Conditions of Mexican Immigrant Women
Mexican women are in a better state of health overall than might be expected, given their socioeconomic status, low levels of health insurance coverage, and limited use of health services, according to a review of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data collected by the Census Bureau. Some authors refer to this as the immigrant or Hispanic paradox. However, the paradox is a multifaceted phenomenon that may be related to various factors as explored below.
There is a low prevalence of certain chronic diseases among Mexican women, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or hypertension, which could be related to the younger age structure of the female Mexican immigrant population. Statistics also show that Mexican women are more likely to be diagnosed with a few diseases in particular with important implications for long-term health, for example diabetes. The incidence of diabetes is particularly elevated among Mexican women with more than ten years of residence in the United States (10 percent) when compared to non-Hispanic white women (6 percent). Among recently arrived Mexican women, only about 2 percent reported having the disease.
It is possible that the poor dietary habits acquired in the United States, combined with the effects of insufficient medical monitoring and other factors have accelerated the development of diabetes in this population. In fact, looking at the Latino population more broadly, diabetes is the fifth most frequent cause of death for Latinos living in the United States.
Positive Health Outcomes
In some areas, Mexican immigrant and Latina women experience positive health outcomes. A number of studies show positive birth outcomes such as low infant mortality rates for Latina women in general and Mexican women.
Source: Published originally on The Migration Information Source as Health Outcomes of Mexican Immigrant Women in the United States, by Paula Leite, Ma. Adela Angoa, Xochitl Castañeda, Emily Felt, Marc Schenker, and Telesforo Ramirez, April 2013.
Workplace deaths increase for Latinos and Blacks
Latinos have the highest rate of occupational fatalities in the United States and it's been that way for 15 years, according to a recent report. Hispanics make up 15 percent of the labor market, but accounted for more than 20 percent of the fatalities, another report showed. The rate of deaths of Latino workers increased 3 percent in 2011 over the previous year.
Overall, more than 4,600 workers were killed on the job in 2011 down from nearly 4,700 fatalities in 2010. Most deaths occurred in construction, transportation and warehouse jobs, according to an analysis by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH).
The number of workplace deaths among Latinos rose to 729 in 2011 from 707 in 2010. It was the first increase since 2006. About 500 of those deaths were of foreign-born workers, largely from Mexico.
Deaths in construction dropped for the fifth consecutive year to 721 deaths. The number is down nearly 42 percent since 2006.
Warehouse and transportation deaths have increased to 733 deaths, overtaking construction.
Women and low-wage jobs
Women are more likely to work in low-wage jobs and are at a high risk for work-related injuries, illness and death.
Hispanic women accounted for 11 percent of occupational fatalities from 2005-2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than half were foreign born.
The rate of fatalities for Hispanic men has declined 29 percent since 2006, however, it has remained the same for Hispanic women.
Source: Published originally on ABC News/Univision as Workplace Deaths Increase for Latinos and Blacksby Albert Sabaté, April 30, 2013.