Careers

For my careers blog post I attended a Latinos in business type of event. It was sponsored by success network, and I heard about the event through a friend enrolled to success network’s mailing list. I’ve heard a million statistics about how hard it is for Latinos to find jobs in today’s market, even with “Equal Opportunity”, I’ve heard even more about Latinas in business. In certain careers some demographics just didn’t do well, and when I was younger I accepted this as fact. I once overheard a classmate say the only industry Latinas could be taken seriously was in sex work. My mother wasn’t in agreement, when I parroted the discussion back to her later that night. That being said, I think it’s fantastic our school has panels like the one I attended: relaying information such as quotas of minorities some companies were obligated to fill, showing us where to find resources for resume building help or workshops on how to write cover letters. Even more important I think we’re the success stories I heard that day, a woman who had worked her way from the Lower East Side to managerial positions. The statistic for women salaries in comparison to men’s is 70 cents to their dollar. For a minority woman that can get lowered to between 68 and 58 depending on which minority, and which field. Which is why it is so important we know we can access resources from our school or community. When I was applying to college my mom encouraged me to apply to scholarships for minorities, or specifically hispanics, I refused on the grounds that I’m biracial, and don’t feel the disadvantages as keenly as a result, white-passing so to speak. Even so, it’s a comfort to know that should I need the help, I need only reach out, I’m too quiet about issues that affect me as it is.