HispanicTrending

Lusting for pan de bono? Amazon Prime Now’s new Wynwood hub can deliver

June 28, 2017
By Andrea Januta

Next time you’re craving arepas, tequeños, pan de bono or queso blanco, there’s a new delivery option.

In its latest move to capture even more of the $800 billion dollar grocery industry, Amazon Prime Now opens a new hub in Wynwood on Wednesday aimed at serving South Florida’s Hispanic audience. Thanks a newly announced partnership with Doral-based El Latino, Amazon will offer foods from every country in South and Central America in its Miami deliveries. It is also expanding into frozen and chilled foods like raspberries, eggs and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Prime Now is the online retailer’s fastest delivery service, offering Prime subscribers one- or two-hour delivery of tens of thousands of items in its retail inventory, ranging from toothpaste and bottled water to almond milk and board games. The service also offers deliveries from local restaurants. Miami residents can enter their ZIP codes online or in the app to see if delivery is available at their address.

The opening comes hot on the heels of the announcement earlier this month that Amazon had acquired Whole Foods in a $13.7 billion dollar deal. The move left industry analysts — and competitors — closely watching Amazon’s expansion into the grocery business.

Prime Now has been operating in select ZIP codes in Miami since March 2015. The Wynwood facility increases its operations and includes a walk-in freezer, allowing the company to deliver cold foods nearby.

“Who doesn’t want popsicles and ice cream when it’s 90 degrees outside? We anticipate those being pretty popular items,” said Amazon spokesperson Ana Rigby.

Amazon’s partnership with El Latino is an attempt to build and serve its customer base among Miami residents, where 68 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino, according to 2016 census data.

The company is competing with other Florida-based supermarkets focused on the Hispanic market like Sedano’s and Publix, which operates seven stores carrying Latin American products under the brand Publix Sabor. Publix also has Latin sections in many of its stores and has offered at-home delivery in parts of Miami since June 2016 through a partnership with San Francisco-based Instacart.

“Miami is one of the most sophisticated markets in the country when it comes to Latin foods,” said Aida Levitan, chairperson of the board of U.S. Century Bank and president of the Levitan Group, a South Florida-based marketing consulting firm. She said she was not familiar with El Latino but believed there was opportunity for improvement in the current delivery options for Latin grocery products.

“There’s really four factors that will play into this: the quality, the pricing, the ease of ordering, and the delivery efficiency,” Levitan said. “All of that will have an influence on whether this succeeds or not.”

When El Latino was created in 2002, it offered four types of cheese. Today it offers more than 120 foods including yogurts and prepared foods from every country in South and Central America, and sells products in 800 South Florida stores.

“We sell nostalgia,” said El Latino founder, Maria Ibañez, who was raised in Colombia and came to the U.S. at age 18. “The consumer has to experience the same flavors they had growing up.”

Amazon approached El Latino in January of this year to discuss a partnership. Ibañez said she had been wanting to expand into online sales for years but found it too expensive on her own.

She said she frequently received emails from customers that said they were looking for specific products from their home country that weren’t in local stores. When contacted by Amazon, she said she agreed “immediately.”

Prime Now was launched in December 2014 in New York City and opened in Miami the following year. The division now serves more than 30 cities. Its Wynwood facility is over 50,000 square feet, making it one of the company’s largest urban facilities.

Customers can place orders through the Prime now app or website. Once an order comes through, associates use a scanner app to locate items in warehouses, then bag them for delivery. Amazon employs independent contractors through its Flex driver program to make the deliveries.

Prime members can get one-hour deliveries for a $7.99 fee; two-hour deliveries are free. An Amazon Prime membership costs $99 a year.

To promote the new service, Amazon is offering free delivery from three local breweries — Concrete Beach, J Wakefield Brewing, and Wynwood Brewing Company — in Wynwood Wednesday. First-time customers can also get $10 off their first purchase with the code 10primenow.

Miami residents can schedule deliveries between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Source: Miami Herald

Latino and Asian immigrants pump nearly $100 billion into NJ economy

June 26, 2017
By David Matthau

Almost 2 million immigrants now call New Jersey home.

They fill highly skilled jobs in the pharmaceutical industry. And also low-level jobs like cooking and cleaning in restaurants.

In all, immigrants contribute billions of dollars into the state’s economy.

According to Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies, immigration and employment relations at Rutgers University, Latin Americans make up about 34 percent of all foreign- born immigrants in the Garden State, while Asians make up about 30 percent.

“In many states, one particular group of immigrants will dominate the foreign-born population. However in New Jersey, we have very significant shares of Latin Americans, of Asians, Europeans and Africans,” she said.

In New Jersey, 9.7 percent of immigrants are from India, 5.7 percent come from Mexico and 5.7 percent hail from the Dominican Republic.

Fine notes that immigrant populations in many parts of the Garden State continue to expand.

She explained many immigrants that come to New Jersey for economic reasons because there’s a tremendous demand “for engineers and computer scientists and physicists at the top of the labor distribution.”

Fine added, “More than 40 percent of New Jersey’s chemists and physicians are foreign born, and over 40 percent of our scientists and engineers are foreign born, and 1 out of 5 New Jersey businesses are owned by foreign born entrepreneurs.”

James Hughes, a Rutgers University professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of planning and public policy, pointed out that “a lot of Asian immigrants were drawn here by the pharmaceutical industry, particularly pharmaceutical research, so they’ve been a presence in Middlesex, Somerset for a very, very long time.”

He said New Jersey also has many immigrant workers with no specialized training.

“Whether it’s restaurant employment, when it’s car wash employment, many lower level jobs are filled by immigrants,” he said.

Fine pointed out Latinos and Asians in New Jersey “wield about $92.3 billion in consumer purchasing power. The businesses that they owned in New Jersey had sales and receipts of $40 billion, and employed more than 160,000 people at last count.”

“In 2014, the purchasing power of New Jersey’s Latinos totaled $46 billion, which was an increase of 415 percent since 1990, and Asian buying power totaled $46.3 billion, an increase of 72 percent since 1990.”

Hughes agreed New Jersey’s economy is now heavily dependent on immigrants, with almost a quarter of the population born in a foreign country, and “when you look at young people, it’s a much higher proportion, and so that’s the labor force of the future that New Jersey’s going to have to depend upon.”

Source: New Jersey 101.5

Hispanic homeownership rate continues to drag for now

June 28, 2017
By Steve Randall

The gap in homeownership rates between Whites and Hispanics in the US is slowly narrowing but very slowly, according to a new analysis from Freddie Mac.

Its June Insight considers the issue and what is causing the rate of ownership among Hispanics to lag. In 2015, the rate was 45%, 26 percentage points below the rate for Whites; in 1995 the gap was 29 percentage points so only slight progress has been made.

Freddie Mac says that almost 90% of the homeownership gap is influenced by age, income and education; these factors are the same for Hispanics as they are for Whites.

The age difference between average White and average Hispanic owners is around 11 years though and Freddie’s analysis shows that this accounts for 7 percentage points in the overall homeownership gap with income and education having a far lower impact (between 1 and 3 points).

The gap is projected to narrow further though, as Freddie Mac’s chief economist Sean Becketti explains:

“These populations are growing and aging at different rates, with the average age of Whites increasing by six years over the next 45 years compared to nearly 10 years for Hispanics. If these Census projections about age distributions are realized, the White/Hispanic homeownership gap is likely to narrow by 20 percent by 2035. In addition, changes in other factors like income and education should further reduce the Hispanic homeownership gap."

Source: Mortgage Professional America

Further Insights Into Hispanics' Financial Needs at Retirement

June 22, 2017
By Manuel Carvallo

I appreciated last week’s “Social Listening Insights On Hispanics’ Financial Needs” but I don’t believe it goes far enough into the psychology of how Latinos relate to old age; recommendations were too generic. I hope to provide you with further insight into this topic.

1. Alluding to the "carpe diem" mentality of living day-to-day reinforces a stereotype that distorts the reality of hard-working Hispanic immigrants. Many Hispanics think about retirement and are making contributions to a pension. That would include 65% of our community, based on our research. However, it is not their own pension account. Rather, that is the actual pension expense that goes toward supporting their parents or in-laws.

Creating a communication strategy about preparing for retirement has to consider that an unwritten social contract exists within the Hispanic community. Working children support their parents or in-laws financially in old age, and this leaves little or no additional financial capacity to save for their own retirement. This inability to save will become a burden for their children, who are expected to cover their parents’ retirement. Our survey shows that 65% of respondents are providing support to their parents or in-laws and 67% of respondents expect their children’s support in old age.

Any communication regarding retirement to Hispanics needs to consider that many working-age Hispanics are in the difficult position of caring for their elders and saving for themselves.

2. I strongly agree that culturally appropriate financial education content is needed. There is a lot of financial education material on the market. Some of it is even translated into Spanish. The problem is that there is very little financial literacy material that considers the specific cultural characteristics of Latinos or the immigrant population. It is, in fact, very scarce.

The recommendation to “develop stories about your brand’s unique approach to financial education" needs to be carefully implemented. There is a problem when instruction crosses the line and becomes mostly marketing since the client then confuses concept and product.

Our experience shows that Latinos quickly realize that the exchange is not balanced — my time for the opportunity for you to sell to me? Then, the instruction comes to an abrupt halt. Financial instruction is better accepted when free from conflicts of interest.

3. The critique on affluent Hispanics needs context. Lack of conversation on financial issues is not caused by a lack of desire or focus, but by the fact that capital market development in Latin America lags about 80 to 100 years with respect to the United States. This lag translates into topics for dinner conversations of two to three generations.

History would help clarify this point. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traces its origins to 1885 and by 1928 it was composed of 30 companies. In contrast, the IPyC of the Mexican stock exchange was introduced in 1965 and by 1986 it had 25 constituents. Based on this milestone, stock markets in Latin America lag behind the United States by 80 to 100 years.

When comparing the experience of American families to Hispanic families on this topic, it may lead one to the erroneous belief that Latinos, even the affluent, don’t care as much about finances. It simply is not the case. They do care. One problem is that they don’t know much about it.

This is not a question concerning preference regarding the choice of a topic for dinner table conversation. Rather, it reflects on historical stages of development.

Preparing Hispanics for retirement in the United States needs to consider not only their culture but the context and contrasts to U.S. culture, and should continue recognizing that Hispanic families are richer for the caring between generations.

Source: Media Post

Plaza Mariachi: A Cultural Experience You Must See for Yourself

June 21, 2017
By Alex Hendrickson

Nolensville Pike has a lot in common with other neighborhoods in Nashville. Restaurants line the street, development is taking place on every corner and the new is blending with the old. But it is on Nolensville Pike that Nashville’s diverse community is the most clearly represented. A Kurdish market is only a few blocks from a Salvadorian restaurant, which sits across the street from an Indian market that is catty-corner from a Mexican grill, which is down the road from a Middle Eastern market — and that is only the beginning. Here, the diverse community is most clearly represented in the food options.

It is also in this Nashville neighborhood that Diane Janbakhsh grew up, although Nashville was a different place when she moved here in 1985. As the only Hispanic student in her school, Diane was introduced to a culture different than the Mexican one in which she was raised. “I grew up in Mexico and the South. It was the best of both worlds,” she tells us. It is the South she has chosen to call home, but Mexico that has influenced her most recent business venture: Plaza Mariachi.

When the Elysian Field Kroger on Nolensville Pike became available, Diane and her husband, Mark Janbakhsh, seized the opportunity to purchase the property, though they were not yet sure what that opportunity was. Little by little, they began to see the needs of the community and landed on a plan: create a one-stop shop that is safe and family-friendly. They brought all of their current businesses, which include America’s United Financial Partnerships, LLC, the Auto Masters Automobile Dealership Group, 15 radio stations and the Hispanic Family Foundation, under one roof, and they added a new one — Plaza Mariachi — to the list.

Plaza Mariachi is a mixed-use development in south Nashville designed to be a cultural and retail epicenter that celebrates Hispanic culture and history. In 2010, Hispanics made up 10% of Nashville’s metro area population; projections show that number will jump to 34% by 2040. That makes Nashville one of the fastest growing Hispanic cities in America, and this growing community is celebrated at Plaza Mariachi.

During our recent visit, we approached an older couple who had stopped in for a late lunch and they explained that the crowds at the Nashville Zoo were too large, so they redirected to Plaza Mariachi. The couple was upset that Madera Restaurant didn’t serve fajitas, so Plaza Mariachi’s Chief Marketing Officer Cristina O. Allen explained to them that the restaurant had a focus on Cuban cuisine, not Mexican. “We have to re-adjust people’s mindsets and taste buds,” Diane tells us, and that is something she is excited to do. As much as Plaza Mariachi is designed to impact the local Latino community, it is also designed to educate and excite non-Latinos. “We celebrate all cultures and how they intertwine,” Diane says.

During a trip to Mexico, Diane and Mark fell in love with the streets, the archways, the doors, the windows and just about everything else they saw. The architecture, as well as the quaintness of the community, sparked their imaginations and ultimately dictated the design of Plaza Mariachi. They brought their experience to life in the 70,000-square-foot space, transforming it to mimic a traditional Mexican marketplace. The transformation took time and much attention to detail — and Mark and Diane’s blood, sweat and tears. With the help of more than 10 artisans, Plaza Mariachi emerged from a now-unrecognizable Kroger, and as a result, it has created 200 jobs. In place of numbered aisles and stocked shelves are streets named for Mexican revolutionary heroes and storefronts bearing Latino names. On these five calles (streets) you will find eateries, retail shops, service-based businesses, an art gallery, a fresh market and more.

Source: Style Blueprint

Only 1 In 5 New Board Appointees At Fortune 500 Companies Are Not White

June 19, 2017
By Stacy Jones and Grace Donnelly

After slipping for two years, the share of board of director appointees from underrepresented groups at Fortune 500 companies has surpassed its old record.

Twenty-two percent of new board director appointees last year were African-American, Hispanic or Latino or Asian American, according to a new study from executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles' new Board Monitor report, up from 21.4% in 2013.

While the share of African-American appointees was virtually unchanged from 2015 at 9.3%, Hispanic or Latino and Asian American appointees saw significant gains. Each group grew to 6.4%, up from 4.0% and 4.8% respectively.

The new data also shows a reversal of a downward trend that began in 2014, when the share of board appointees from underrepresented groups fell to 18.6%, and 2015, when it fell again to 18.1%.

While the report shows some progress for underrepresented groups, regardless of gender, it also represents a step back for women on Fortune 500 boards. Women accounted for 27.8% of board appointments in 2016, losing two percentage points from 2015. Because of this, Board Monitor had to add six years to its estimate of when Fortune 500 companies will achieve gender parity among their board of director appointees.

Of the 39 African-American board appointees in 2016, one-third were at industrial Fortune 500 companies. Companies in the consumer industry accounted for 12% of Hispanic or Latino/a appointees. And Asian-Americans saw the most appointments, 28%, at technology companies.

The conversation about diversity in the overall tech workforce, especially technical workers, tends to focus on advocating for African-American and Hispanic or Latino workers and treats Asian Americans like part of the majority. It's not entirely unwarranted. While Asian Americans account for 5.5 of the overall U.S. population, they account for up to 39% of technicians and 32% of the overall workforce at Twitter.

This overrepresentation has compelled some Asian engineers and technicians to publish calls to action, urging other Asians in the industry to use their position to advocate for other minority groups. However, this new data shows that Asian Americans still have difficulty making it into vacant board of director seats.

One of the common misconceptions about overt efforts to increase board diversity is the belief that it will lower the bar, ushering in appointees without experience for the sake of optics.

The numbers in the new report provide some evidence that this hasn't been the case.

While the share of African-American, Hispanic or Latino and Asian board directors rose from 18% to 22% from 2015 to 2016, the share of appointees with prior experience went from 64% to 75% over the same time period.

Most of the first-timers were at consumer companies, 35%; industrial, 25%; and financial services, 15%.

Source: Fortune

Southeastern Grocers converts more Winn-Dixie stores to Hispanic format

June 19, 2017
By Jeff Wells

Across the country, Hispanic grocers are finding success in markets where traditional retailers have failed. In super-competitive Southern California, names such as Northgate Gonzalez and Cardenas Market are taking over leases and succeeding in many low- and middle-income communities. In Texas, Albertsons-owned Amigos stores continue to grow, while a bilingual Whole Foods in El Paso represents a hybrid approach to a fast-growing consumer group.

These grocers are capitalizing on a growing Hispanic population, which currently comes in at around 60 million. Their population is expected to double during the next forty years, according to the Census Bureau.

By tapping into this market, they’re also capitalizing on a more valuable customer. According to Nielsen data, Hispanic consumers spend $175 more per year on fresh foods than the average shopper. In addition, more than two-thirds of Hispanics say they enjoy grocery shopping, while 79% — nearly twice the percentage of total U.S. shoppers — say they shop with at least one other person.

Hispanic grocers also see a lot of valuable millennial consumers. Indeed, 61% of Hispanic millennials say they’ve shopped at a Hispanic market at least once in the past year, according to Nielsen.

These stores offer a wide range of culturally significant products, from custom meats to tropical produce and authentic prepared foods. Their offerings overlap with traditional grocers in many areas, but are distinct enough to earn the loyalty of millions of customers. According to research from food and agricultural supplier Cargill, 76% of Hispanic consumers say they’ll regularly shop at a store that features variety meats. As the success of Fresco Y Mas and other Hispanic stores shows, these outlets are thriving at a time when the industry as a whole continues to struggle. It would not be surprising to see more Hispanic stores open in the near future.

Source: Food DIVE

Chamber speaker: Latino community could help improve American Dream

June 16, 2017
By Jessica Moon

Most people can talk generally about their thoughts on the American Dream, but Luis Ricardo Fraga, co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies and professor at the University of Notre Dame, took it apart and explained it from a Latino perspective in a presentation Friday.

Mr. Fraga's speech, "Latinos in the New Millennium," was part of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Multicultural Speaker Series. He focused on the American Dream and changing demographics in the United States. He also brought up the question of what kind of legacy members of this generation want to leave their children.

In defining the American Dream, Mr. Fraga said there are two dimensions of it.

"One dimension is hard work and sacrifice lead to opportunity," he said. "And the second dimension is those opportunities, if you take advantage of them appropriately, will lead to respect, security and providing for your family."

Many times during his speech, Mr. Fraga mentioned data from a national survey of Latinos that he completed with five other political scientists in 2006. The results of this survey showed the views of the Latino community to be "as American as it gets," according to Mr. Fraga.

He said the survey showed most Latino immigrants to the United States came here for better economic opportunities and became citizens to obtain voting rights and legal, political and civil rights. These ideals, along with high hopes for their children's futures, are all very American, said Mr. Fraga.

"Latinos should fit in with the traditional understandings of America and the American Dream, and the aspirations and expectations that are there," he said.

However, there is a distinct difference between the American Dream and what Mr. Fraga jokingly called the "Americano Dream."

"The tradition in our country is you immigrate here, you leave your home country values and traditions and you become American," he said. "Latinos are saying, 'What if we're able to have it all?'"

Data collected in the national survey showed that most Latinos highly value both adopting American culture and maintaining their own through native language and traditions.

"The two co-exist," Mr. Fraga said. "They're not in competition."

Bringing the two cultures together, according to Mr. Fraga, creates "added value, added understanding and added richness."

With the American population shifting and the gap between the Latino and Caucasian demographics closing, Mr. Fraga pointed out the value of bringing Latino voices into the conversation about the country's future.

"Might it be the case that communities of historical disadvantage (like the Latino community) be the source of the betterment of American democracy?" he said. "Might they bring challenges to traditional institutions and actually help those institutions and leaders grow?"

Mr. Fraga suggested that it's communities of disadvantage that help America "live up to its better principles of liberty, justice and equality."

He urged the about 50 people attending the event to do what they can to help improve their communities, because local changes eventually will lead to national ones.

"Let's hope that we can leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren that they deserve, rather than that they simply inherit," Mr. Fraga said.

Lee Vasquez, executive director of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he enjoyed Mr. Fraga's speech and was interested in the data he provided about how each generation in the Latino community thinks.

"I was not only impressed, but enlightened just by the data he had and the different statistics of everything going on in the country," Mr. Vasquez said.

Mr. Fraga was the final speaker in the series. The Hispanic Chamber's next year of events will kick off with a Latina Leadership Panel on June 24, according to Mr. Vasquez.

The panel is part of the Empowering Latina Leadership Alliance initiative, designed to help Latina business owners.

Source: QCOnline

Years after the meltdown, Latinos still wary of big banks

June 16, 2017
By Octavio Blanco

After being hit hard during the recession, Latinos say they worry that the same reckless behaviors that precipitated the economic crisis could make a comeback.

Latinos were one of the primary victims of the predatory lending practices that led to the housing crisis. That included being offered low-interest teaser rates on mortgages that later ballooned to a point they could no longer afford.

Many borrowers were forced to default. As a result, Latinos lost their homes more than any other racial or ethnic group between 2007 and 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In response to the meltdown, the Obama administration put in place the Dodd-Frank financial reforms to rein in Wall Street and the big banks. Dodd-Frank also established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect consumers and prevent such practices from happening again.

Among other things, the CFPB enacted rules that required mortgage lenders to ensure borrowers are financially capable of paying their loans. It also cracked down on payday lenders and tightened oversight on international money transfers.

Now the Trump administration is seeking to repeal Dodd-Frank and hobble the CFPB's authority and independence -- a move that has many Latino consumers nervous.

In a recent survey, nearly 81% of Latinos said that if the government had fewer rules on banks, credit card companies, payday lenders and mortgage lenders, these companies would be more likely to take advantage of them. The survey, which was commissioned by Latino advocacy group National Council of La Raza, polled 1,000 Latino registered voters.

The respondents overwhelmingly said they trusted an independent consumer protection agency to oversee banks and make sure that the financial industry is honest to the public. However, a majority said they do not trust President Trump or Congress to oversee banks.

Things have improved some since the recession. Latino household income grew 6.1% from 2014 to 2015, faster than any other racial or ethnic group, but many Latinos still lag far behind whites and Asians when it comes to median household income and wealth.

They also struggle to get loans due to tighter lending standards at traditional banks that require stronger credit scores and big down payments.

"Many [of our] clients are discouraged to work with banks out of fear of rejection," said Sean Salas co-founder and CEO of Camino Financial, an online lending website that helps connect predominantly Latino small business owners or first-time borrowers with lenders.

Trust also still seems to be strained between the Latino community and the big banks. The La Raza survey found that nearly 75% said they believed the financial industry is still engaged in the type of reckless practices that led to the housing crisis and economic meltdown.

Instead of traditional banks, many Latinos have been turning to non-bank financial institutions, like merchant cash advance companies and online lenders, which are typically under less regulatory scrutiny or oversight instead, Salas said.

The financial industry blames government regulations for straining the relationship with Latino borrowers.

Jack Ferry, a spokesperson for the American Financial Services Association, the trade association for the consumer credit industry which consists of auto lenders and "small dollar lenders," said small lenders struggle to remain in compliance of both state and federal oversight rules.

He believes repealing Dodd-Frank and reducing the CFPB's power will help lower the barriers that are keeping both banks and non-traditional lenders from lending to low-and middle-income borrowers.

"The principal of consumer protection is something that we can all get behind, but not when it impedes lenders from making loans to their customers," Ferry said.

Source: CNN

Latino growth drives Boston’s economic future

June 14, 2017
By Julie Pattison-Gordon

Latinos are Boston’s future, according to a new report released by the Boston Indicators Project of The Boston Foundation and the Boston Planning and Development Agency. They are the city’s fastest-growing group, comprising 20 percent of Boston’s 2015 population and 31 percent of its children.

From 1950 to 1980, Boston’s population was in a slump, as was its economy. Then in 1980, numbers picked up as the Latino population expanded, accounting for 92 percent of the city’s population growth between 1980 and 2015. With Latinos now representing a large portion of Boston’s youth, they’ll be the ones driving the economy as baby boomers retire, and they’ll be the face of Boston in years to come, said speakers at the report’s unveiling at the Institute of Contemporary Art last week.

“You can really make the argument, ‘No Latinos, no Boston renaissance,’” said Paul Grogan, CEO and president of The Boston Foundation. “That growth in population has been absolutely indispensable to the growth and vitality that the city exhibits today.”

High-level Latino professionals at the event, which was hosted by the Latino Legacy Fund, said that Boston and Massachusetts Latinos represent underutilized talent. Facilitating Latinos’ educational attainment, improving their access to job and career growth opportunities and forming more robust and interconnected Latino-led networks, they said, are key measures to help ensure the vitality and wellbeing of this growing sector and to pave the way for continued city and state economic growth.

Barriers to advancement

In Suffolk County, Latinos comprise 14 percent of the workforce, own 10.4 percent of Boston’s privately-held firms and account for $9 billion in economic output, according to the report. Despite these statistics, Latino-owned businesses on average make less in sales and have fewer (if any) paid employees compared to non-Latino owned businesses. Latinos disproportionately work in lower-paying industries, such as food preparation with median annual salaries of $31,000 for full-time work. They are underrepresented in some higher-wage sectors such as business and finance, which carry $92,000 median annual salaries.
Likely reasons for these disparities, the report says, are language barriers and the fact that Latinos are less likely to have college degrees or high school completion than non-Latinos. Only 19 percent of Latinos have bachelor’s degrees or higher, compared to 50 percent of non-Latinos. Boston jobs increasingly demand higher education, and even in jobs without such requirements, already applicants with higher degrees compete against those without. Additionally, a quarter of Latinos do not speak English well or at all, according to the report. Speakers at the ICA event told anecdotes of medically-trained individuals relegated to cleaning roles at hospitals because they lacked the necessary English capability to use their full skills.

Education and opportunities

Carlos Santiago, state commissioner of Higher Education, said solutions include investing more in funding and strengthening community colleges, given that 70 percent of Latinos attend public higher education institutions, and providing need-based student financial aid. Education approaches also need to shift to acknowledge changing realities such as needs for homelessness services and day care, he said, and educational institutions need to recruit and retain Latino faculty at all staff levels. In addition, greater support needs to be provided to first-generation college attendees to help them navigate where family knowledge falls short, and investments must be made early in the education pipeline to prevent achievement gaps that are often evident among incoming college students.

“We’re going to see nearly 25 percent of our labor force retire within the next 10 years,” Santiago said. “The traditional college-going white population is in decline. Latinos are growing, yet we’re not investing in them to succeed in all levels.”

Reiner Moquete, CEO of Advoqt Technology Group, said another issue is that students too often graduate high school unprepared to apply skills to real-world problems. Small businesses cannot afford to spend time training new hires up to full effectiveness, he said.

“As a small business owner, that’s unsupportable. I can’t wait a year or two for someone to ramp up,” Moquete said.

He recommended educational approaches that focus on hands-on learning, as well as encouragement for students to attain industry certifications after high school.

Other initiatives mentioned include programs targeted to common need areas such as industry-specific English language training and training for immigrants to get their professional licenses recertified in America, said Alejandra St. Guillen, director of the mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement. Marybeth Campbell, CEO of SkillWorks, noted from the audience that it can be effective to provide training on the job to assist already-employed individuals in advancing.

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jim Rooney says his organization seeks to provide financial training to small businesses and to help support and grow diverse small firms by building supplier connections between small businesses and larger ones.

Engaging and keeping Latino talent

Jody Rose, executive director of New England Venture Capital Association, said those companies that report difficulty in finding diverse talent too often are relying only on their traditional search methods. Her organization recruits black and Latino talent out of colleges, two-year programs and coding boot camps for jobs in science and technology. Yvonne Garcia, senior vice president of investment and manager services at State Street Corporation and national president of the Association of Latino Professionals for America, said effective recruitment approaches may include partnering with Latino alumni associations; tailoring outreach efforts to match different sectors’ habits, for instance using social media to reach youth; holding one’s firm to clear goals and metrics; and employing strategies such as refusing to make a hire unless a diverse slate of candidates has been considered.

There also is a difference between recruiting talent and retaining it. The latter requires demonstrating career path opportunities, including offering professional development opportunities and role models in high-level positions.

Bob Rivers, Eastern Bank chair and CEO, noted that having Latinos on the firm’s board provides new perspectives on how to find diverse talent and on services that would best meet needs of potential clients from Latino communities.
Businesses are taking heed of Boston’s changing demographics. Tufts Health Plan’s vice president of business diversity, Juan Lopera, said his company’s vitality requires being able to relate culturally to the city’s fastest growing sector, addressing Latinos’ specific needs and effectively targeting marketing to them.

Some Latino professionals said also that Latinos need to come together more consciously, create networking opportunities with each other where possible and take advantage of chances to act as mentors.

Source: The Bay State Banner