Latinas In Texas Face Economic Challenges

June 16–Fifty-five percent of women living in Texas are minorities, and 37 percent of them are Latinas, according to a report of the Texas Women's Foundation "2014 Economic Issues for Women in Texas."

The just-released report lays out some of the economic challenges that Latinas and other minority women face across the state, and provides several recommendations on tackling the issues. The Center for Public Policy Priorities, a leading nonpartisan research organization based in Austin, conducted the study for the foundation.

"The study looks at the policies and practices that affect a woman's ability to be economically stable and secure," said Roslyn Dawson Thompson, president and CEO of the Texas Women's Foundation and Dallas Women's Foundation.

If nothing else, she said, the Lone Star State's changing demographics offer compelling reasons for lawmakers and policymakers to be proactive.

"As in most parts of the world, women are the face of poverty," Dawson Thompson said. "In Texas, 30 percent of households are headed by a woman, and they represent 53 percent of households living in poverty."

According to the Texas Women's Foundation, 45 percent of Texas women are non-Hispanic whites, 37 percent are Latinas, 12 percent are African-Americans, 5 percent are Asian and 1 percent refer to themselves as "other."

El Paso County is about 85 percent Hispanic or Latino, and women make up 51 percent of the county's population, U.S. census statistics show. In El Paso about a quarter of the population lives in poverty (below the federal thresh hold), and more than 18 percent of households (per the 2010 Census) were headed by single mothers.

Queta Fierro, a community leader and former chairperson of the El Paso Democratic Party, said Sunday that she's surprised to learn that minority women in Texas make up more than half of the state's female population.

"I knew we are a big group, but I thought were still around 40 percent or so level," Fierro said. "This is why we need to get together and agree on what's best for women. For example, women at the low end of the wage scale need to see the connection between voting and improving their economic status. This is something we still need to work on."

An online tool of the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) indicates that a single-parent household with two children needs an annual income of $38,760, a job that pays $19.38 an hour, to cover the family's basic expenses. That kind of income would help cover health insurance premiums, assuming that the parent did not have health care benefits through an employer.

The CPPP indicates that 76 percent of El Paso jobs don't pay enough to cover this family's necessities, also considering that the median hourly wage in El Paso is $19 an hour. In other communities, where the cost of living is higher, families would need more income.

Liz Chavez, president and founder of Wise Latina International, a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering women of color, said it's important for minority women to learn how to network and acquire skills that will help overcome the economic challenges ahead of them.

Wise Latina InternationalEl Paso, drawing presenters from business, the arts, entertainment, politics, education, journalism, among others.

"We're seeking to empower, enlighten, and educate women from all walks of life and of all ages to serve as agents of change, so they can have a positive impact on their lives, their families and their communities," Chavez said.

The organization takes its name from the phrase "wise Latina" that Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice, used in a speech.

Armida Ruiz Martinez, assistant director of human resources at the University of Texas at El Paso, spoke about women in the workplace at the summit. During a break, Ruiz Martinez said that education is the key that will unlock job opportunities for Latinas.

"Education will make the difference," she said. "Women also need to come together in the community, and help each other out."

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.

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