By Jesselly De La Cruz and Debra Lancaster
Across the nation, deep societal gaps exist and impact our lives daily, especially in the workforce and economy.
Even in a growing, prosperous state like New Jersey, too many people struggle with a lack of access to critical resources like career advancement and educational opportunities, and most of them are women, especially Latina women.
The gender wage gap is well documented, with Latina women suffering from the largest gap of any demographic group in the country. And even though Latina women represent nearly 10% of the state’s workforce, New Jersey ranks nearly last in the nation in pay equity for those workers.
Latina women are historically underrepresented in high-wage jobs, overwhelmingly settling for low-wage sectors and occupations such as childcare, housekeeping, and waitressing. While their hard work greatly supports our economy, they often cannot access critical social support services and safety nets. Access to childcare, unemployment insurance, health care, housing, and more also remain out of reach for a variety of reasons.
If New Jersey wants to continue to grow and prosper, we cannot afford to overlook the Latina women who are the backbone of our workforce and many of our communities.
Empowering Latina women to enter the workforce and supporting them once they do so are the keys to growing wealth in communities of color across the state. And looking a bit broader, with more communities succeeding, all of New Jersey will be better off.
For New Jersey to meet its full potential, it is essential that we keep equity at the forefront, carefully monitoring who our economy is serving and who it is failing. We simply won’t be able to tackle poverty and build wealth in Latino communities or other communities of color if we do not empower Latina women to be successful in the workforce.
Latino Action Network Foundation (LANF) sees the challenges Latina women face each day through their work with the Hispanic Women’s Resource Centers (HWRC). HWRCs help Latina women to gain workplace skills, enhancing their earning potential and job prospects.
LANF partnered with the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work (CWW) to produce a report highlighting the stark earnings gap that New Jersey Latinas experience and documenting the lived experiences of HWRC clients.
Rutgers researchers interviewed 69 Latina immigrant women who utilize services at New Jersey HWRCs, focusing on their access to employment, working conditions, time caring for themselves and loved ones, and how they think about their future.
The report highlights that nearly half of those interviewed are often prevented from accessing employment because of their lack of English proficiency. Acknowledging this as a primary barrier, many of the participants felt that English language skills would increase their employment options and help them enter higher-paying careers, benefiting themselves, their families, and their communities.
Almost all participants had been enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at some point. Latina women rely heavily on HWRCs for ESL classes because they can access them free of charge and in a comfortable environment.
English language support is just one example of the ways HWRCs help Latina women. Along with job training programs and educational opportunities, and because these centers are situated within long-standing social service organizations, they act as an entry point for wraparound services that provide culturally competent and trusted services.
LANF provides support to four HWRCs, one of which is located within a respected Newark organization, La Casa de Don Pedro (La Casa). La Casa established its HWRC in 2006 to provide ESL tutoring, High School Equivalency (HSE) coaching, scholarships, job training, and other critical resources and services.
Thanks to our advocacy, we were able to increase funding for HRCWs in this year’s state budget, allowing the centers to implement the evidence-based “Promotoras de Salud,” or “Community Health Worker,” model. This model trains and employs trusted community members who understand the challenges faced by HWRC clients and can provide uniquely personal peer-to-peer counseling that promotes health, and wellness and shows that growth is possible.
State funding for HWRCs is broad and flexible, filling service gaps other programs don’t cover. New Jersey increased this funding once before, and given the proven effectiveness and success of the Centers, we need additional funding to fully implement programs to serve more women.
That’s why we’re asking Gov. Murphy and our partners in the Legislature to demonstrate their commitment to building a more just and equitable economy by increasing funding in next year’s state budget.
Prioritizing new opportunities for Latina women by investing in HWRCs is key to empowering more women to enter the workforce, building a stronger middle class, and creating a more equitable, prosperous New Jersey for all.
Dr. Jesselly De La Cruz is the executive director of the Latino Action Network Foundation. Debra Lancaster is the executive director of the Rutgers Center for Women and Work.
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