Abstract
This chapter will present personal levers, which are family and spirituality, and the professional levers, which include mentoring in relation to the academic funnel of gender and ethnic bias, as well why it is important comprehend the cultural impact unto the journey to leadership. Participants addressed each one of the levers in their journey in higher education. Only a few Latinas reach leadership positions in organizations in the United States, despite their increasing interest in obtaining advanced college degrees. This issue is especially glaring in higher education, as the United States becomes increasingly diverse through the infusion of new immigrants. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report from 2013 noted that 51.6% of women between the ages 25 and 29 were in a management, business, or financial operation occupation; and 8.7% of those women were Latinas. In the same way, only small numbers of Hispanic women reach senior leadership positions.
TopImportance Of The Cultural Impact In The Journey To Leadership
Latinas are a lag behind from White female’s graduate college enrollments and until there are not changes from the pipeline from K-12 standardized assessments will continue be an issue (Fry, 2009; Kanno & Harklau, 2016). The United States Department of Education in conjunction with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), show that Hispanic students enrolled from 10th – 12th grades have the highest level of dropouts in the Midwest and southern states (NCES, 2019). School administrators and teachers focus on the number of Hispanic dropouts and as well as their level of English proficiency. According to Anderson (1991), the high number of dropouts is due to the fact that educational placements and instructional strategies for Hispanic immigrants have not been properly established in the school districts.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Buffering: A buffering effect is a process in which a psychosocial resource reduces the impact of life stress on psycho-logical well-being. Having such a resource contributes to adjustment because persons are less affected by negative life events (Psychology, 2020).
Race: A socially defined concept sometimes used to designate a portion, or “subdivision,” of the human population with common physical characteristics, ancestry, or language. The term is also loosely applied to geographic, cultural, religious, or national groups. The significance often accorded to racial categories might suggest that such groups are objectively defined and homogeneous; however, there is much heterogeneity within categories, and the categories themselves differ across cultures. Moreover, self-reported race frequently varies owing to changing social contexts and an individual’s possible identification with more than one race (APA, 2020).
Levers: A means of exerting pressure in order to accomplish something or provide strategic aid (Dictionary, 2020).
Scholarship: Significant intellectual work in the academy, practitioners need to identify shared principles of good practice (Felten, 2013).
Gender Bias: Unequal treatment in employment opportunity (such as promotion, pay, benefits and privileges), and expectations due to attitudes based on the sex of an employee or group of employees. Gender bias can be a legitimate basis for a lawsuit under anti-discrimination statutes (Dictionary, 2020).
Mentor: A trusted counselor or guide (Merriam-Webster, 2020).
Hispanic Women: Hispanic women are extremely influential; many of them are the curanderas /remedy experts, contadoras de historias /story tellers (roots’ preservers), and advocates in many cases for the protection of children and women (Pinkola Estes, 1992).