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Alicia Rascon on Thu, 19th Mar 2009 1:49 pm 



I’ve enjoyed following your blog. I’m one of the founders of Latinitas, the first digital magazine for U.S. Latina youth. We are a nonprofit focused on empowering Hispanic girls to build confidence and express themselves through media. We host media enrichment, girl empowerment programs through Texas where girls produce our webzine. Would you be interested in featuring our site on your blog?

Julie Zepeda on Sat, 23rd May 2009 4:46 pm 



We are requesting help in creating statsitics for Latino owned businesses in the Professioanl Beauty Industry your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

mil gracias,

Julie Zepeda
877.658.3801

Leslie Ann on Tue, 23rd Jun 2009 10:01 pm 



The topic keeps of gender, ethnicity and merit in the workplace keeps resurfacing, this time with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Superior Court. I am honestly baffled by the criticism she has faced, as she has more experience than every other current Supreme Court judge had when they were nominated to their posts, and seems less inclined to favor personal beliefs over a fair interpretation of the law than many of her peers.
Yet she seems to be more severly judged and criticized, perhaps just for the sake of it.

The fact is that women still need to prove themselves far beyond their male peers to be considered worthy of their jobs.

At a time when polls suggest that a majority of people might oppose affirmative action, I’ve become more convinced of its merits.

To name just one local example with which I am familiar, one of the most talented and dedicated teachers I’ve met, a woman I consider the best educator in San Diego (my apologies to all the brilliant teachers in the county whom I might not have even met), has seen her search for a well-deserved full-time professor position frustrated by a community college’s preference for less qualified males.

While I am just an outside observer and do not pretend to know everything, the available information suggests that the female applicant was far superior than her male counterparts. Among her accomplishments is an impressive ability to teach 5 or 6 languages and their literatures. She can also teach education and leadership courses, which make her unusually versatile and desirable to any institution. She is also a doctoral candidate in Education Leadership. She has received local, national and international recognition, which include a prestigious Fulbright award and scholarships from at least three foreign governments. She has extensive experience abroad. She is a multiple recipient of excellence in teaching awards, including the distinction of being chosen “professor of the year” at the college to which she applied for her full-time job.
Furthermore, this young woman went beyond being an excellent candidate to proving herself indispensable to the institution to which she applied. She single handedly built one language program from a single class to six healthy sections and the hiring of the full-time professor. The year after she started teaching the language (while being the only instructor doing so), enrollment in its classes rose 44%. She also supported students in the creation of a language club and applied for 2 grants from a national organization which were awarded to the club.

In comparison, the two male applicants who were subsequently hired to fill two full-time positions at the college only present average, lackluster qualifications. One of them apparently listed an Italian “laurea” in History as his terminal degree. A “laurea” is widely regarded as equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree and would not be sufficient for teaching at a community college. Nor is it related to the discipline which he currently teaches. Unless there is additional information I don’t know (and lots of it), this professor seems much better qualified for employment as a high school teacher.

The other instructor hired was already a full-time professor at another college who, despite being able to concentrate his efforts on one institution and spared the stress of “freeway flying”, achieved no notable distinctions and appears to have made no significant contributions to his program. He holds a Master’s degree in Spanish and teaches only one language. No evidence of studies beyond the Master’s degree or exceptional leadership is apparent. The only bright spot on his career appears to be a couple of trips abroad for work or study.

I do not doubt that all three can make positive contributions to education and their college in the future. Neither do I pretend to know all the details of the hiring process. But the disparity in the qualifications and achievements between the two males who were hired and the female who is still struggling to make ends meet is too obvious.

As a female, I have often felt the need to prove myself beyond my male peers, and feel that my experience is validated by the experiences of many other women. And since I am not Hispanic, I can only imagine how this inequality might be further complicated when the women in question are indeed minorities, like Sonia Sotomayor and my friend, the brilliant yet unappreciated educator.

Luz Maria Castellanos on Fri, 23rd Oct 2009 5:27 pm 



Hola, Estoy buscando blogs que se dirijan a Latinas en los estados unidos para una promoción con Unilever, la compañía que produce productos como Dove, Pons etc. Quería saber si tu blog es dirigida a Latinas un los estados unidos para poder mandarte mas información sobre esta promoción.

Gracias,

Luz Maria Castellanos

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