Latinas have been hit hard by the pandemic, but they’re more determined than ever to achieve entrepreneurial and financial success.
That’s according to “The Latina Pulse: Champions of Change,” a new Telemundo survey (in partnership with Hispanics Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) and Latino Victory Foundation.
The survey, which polled 800 Latinas and 800 non-Latinas online in both English and Spanish in July, covered a wide range of topics, including wealth, equality, industry, family, political elections and progress.
“The results show that Latinas are ‘200 percenters’: She is 100 percent American and 100 percent Latina, and she feels very comfortable living in two worlds,” said Mónica Gil, executive vice president and chief administrative and marketing officer at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “She feels a desire and a responsibility to be both — and that has allowed Latinas to activate their voice.”
That’s translating to economic freedom and success: Foreign-born Latinas are almost twice as likely to own or to plan to own their own businesses compared to non-Latinas, according to the Latina Pulse survey. It also found Latinas are more likely to pursue higher education.
Meanwhile, 52 percent of Latinas age 50 and older own their own home and 44 percent ages 35 to 49 plan to buy one within the next three years.
“It shows we’re evolving and being the architects of our own destiny,” Gil said in an interview with Know Your Value. “These statistics reflect that Latinas have the resiliency and ability to create opportunities for themselves even in the most difficult times — often the first women in our families to purchase homes, to make these big decisions, to push forward in this way.”
It’s personal for Gil, the youngest of 12 children and the only one to be born in America after her family immigrated from Mexico. Her parents, a gardener and a homemaker, instilled the values of a strong work ethic and the desire to leave the world a little better than she found it.
“But in the past, you couldn’t really be a 200 percenter — there was a huge pressure to assimilate,” Gil said. “Now, [Latinas] can live and breathe both and we’re embracing it. To me, that’s the biggest driver of all of this evolution.”
And it’s what inspired The Latina Pulse survey, she said. She wanted to help coordinate the collection of “data that are current, that go past stereotypes and that reflect the evolution of all of kinds of Latinas.”
For example, the survey showed that six in 10 Latina mothers consider themselves the CEOs of their household, and it cited research noting Latinas influence almost $2 trillion in purchasing power.
“Brands should sit up and take note,” said Gil. “…Latinas are not only the purchasers, but also the workers, the voters and overall a huge force in this country.”
To that end, the Pulse survey found 63 percent of Latinas are registered to vote and 56 percent voted in the 2020 presidential election. Six in 10 said they enjoy keeping up with politics and current events.
She noted 50,000 Latinos turn 18 every month. “That will truly be a force for the next [presidential] election,” Gil said.
The success and influence that Latinas have achieved comes amid challenges — both new and ongoing. For example, four in 10 Latinas said their jobs were negatively impacted by the pandemic, while nearly a quarter said they lost someone close to them to Covid-19.
And as women of color in the U.S., 37 percent of Latinas said they have experienced discrimination in public and in social situations, while 30 percent said the same for the workplace.
Yet that discrimination doesn’t dent their immense pride in their heritage and identities as Latinas: 78 percent consider being bilingual an advantage, 76 percent said it’s important to keep their culture alive, and 67 percent find having the perspective of two cultures gives them an edge.
“Latinas are as American as apple pie, and we are part of the fabric of this nation,” Gil said. “They continue to truly be a force of progress in the face of adversity. I always say, if you want to bet on someone, bet on a Latina: She will deliver time after time.”