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The politics of passing the Dream Act has often been a frustrating and divisive issue. A recent study conducted by North American Integration and Development Center at UCLA try to cut through the  political rhetoric and put a dollar number to the benefits of passing the legislation. According to the study,  

“…2.1 million undocumented immigrants would become legalized and generate approximately $ 3.6 trillion” over a 40-year period. Another positive effect of the DREAM Act would be that “[a] higher supply of skilled students would also advance the U.S. global competitive position in science, technology, medicine, education and many other endeavors”

This is a significant finding when you consider the U.S. will not be able to find enough skilled and educated workers in the coming decades. You can find the report here.

Over the last few days, I’ve spent some time reading through tweets coming out of the Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference (#ANAmarketers). There were a lot of great comments on Latinos and other cultural groups regarding marketing, hiring, retention, leadership, and other topics. Here’s a sampling:

…hispanics are a top priority to fuel future growth …. employee affinity & several informal interest groups 4 employees aimed 2 foster a culture of high inclusivity….
… just because you have visual diversity, doesn’t mean u r utilizing it to its fullest potential if you are not tapping into it…. to know hispanic marketing you have to know marketing….. our workforce is diverse and 15% of its officers are diverse ……

And while I think this information is critical to know and understand – I’d like to add a comment: “So what?”

So what that Latinos are the fastest growing demographic in the United States; so what that more Latinos are entering college; so what that the Latino workforce is increasingly entering the professional workforce; so what that Latinos’ purchasing power will be close to a trillion dollars by 2011; so what that nearly 80% of Latinos engage in some type of social media; so what that businesses say Latino consumers will influence fashion and beauty trends. So what.

Most organizations still overlook this data and this business opportunity- some by choice and many simply because “they don’t get it.”

I read through a report today that stated: “demographics are not destiny.” I’ve heard this phrase before, but maybe it was the overload of data in my head – that made me reflect on what this idiom really means.

The future of Latinos in the workforce, as consumers, as entrepreneurs, as educators, and as leaders cannot be determined by demographic changes alone. It’s too simple a reason. I’d suggest that Latinos’ future – our future – will be created by choices we make individually and collectively. We are only limited by our desire to achieve it.

Busy days with different projects and meetings this week — but a few things caught my eye today that I wanted to share around the topics of the Hispanic workforce/demographics, mentoring, and education. Enjoy!

UCLA Project Examining Latino Baby Boomers: I was speaking with a colleague earlier in the week regarding Hispanic population trends. We discussed how there’s been a lot of analysis on immigration, educational, and workforce related topics. We both agreed we’d start seeing more of the type of studies being conducted by Latinos and Econmic Security (LES) and UCLA. An excellent report which discusses the characteristics of Baby Boomer Latinos. A definite must read. Also browse around LES website to see the fine research work they do! You also might want to review the work of Dr. Fred Bonner who has written extensively on the learning attributes of Hispanic millennials.

Why Men Still Earn More than Women: Excellent piece by Harvard Business Magazine examining the reasons why men still earn more than women. The article was co-written by Herminia Ibarra one of my favorite researchers. I included a lot of her research in my doctoral work. Much of the article’s discussion centers on mentoring — which happens to be in line with my post a couple days ago. Check out the article and Google Dr. Ibarra’s work – she’s excellent at what she does.

Unlearning Teaching: Another great piece I found via Alastair Creelman, who works with net-based learning at Linnaeus University, Kalmar in south-east Sweden. He also writes the blog Corridor of Uncertainty. As an online instructor for over eight years now, I found his thoughts very much in line with what I attempt to do in my online classes. Alastair shares this entry from the original source, Will Richardson, “Learner in Chief” at Connective Learning:

“I think that’s one of the hardest shifts in thinking for teachers to make, the idea that they are no longer central to student learning simply because they are in the room. When learning value can be found in a billion different places, the teacher has to see herself as one of many nodes of learning, and she has to be willing to help students find, vet, and interact with those other nodes in ways that place value at the center of the interaction, meaning both ways. It’s not just enough to add those who bring value; we must create value in our networks as well.”

This is an excellent study by Pew Research focusing on minority college enrollment over the last few years. The news and trends are especially positive for Hispanic freshman. Why the boom? A few reasons are cited but a major reason is Hispanic high school completion rates. Data strongly suggest that the freshman college enrollment spike that occurred is closely related to the minority high school completion spike that occurred the same year. Some highlights below –with  the full report is here.

Large freshman enrollment growth was evident among the nation’s racial and ethnic minorities. Overall freshman enrollment was up 6%. Hispanic freshmen increased by 40,000 compared with 2007, a 15% increase in enrollment and the largest of any of the major racial/ethnic groups.

In short, since 2007 there has been significant growth in minority freshmen (particularly Hispanic) and there has been significant minority freshman growth in each tier of postsecondary education, including four-year colleges and universities.

In addition, the first year of the recession was a time when young Hispanics, in particular, were completing high school at record rates. According to Census Bureau surveys, the Hispanic high school completion rate reached an all-time high in October 2008 at 70%.

How much less did women make than men in their first post-MBA job – $4,600. And before you argue it’s related to starting job level or industry - a recent study controls for these factors. In short – the study demonstrates that women are simply paid less than men. Inequality.

Good article in the WSJ discussing that engineers are the highest college graduate money makers with petroleum and computer science majors making up the top two fields. A great opportunity for Hispanic college students; however; while Hispanics are entering the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields in greater numbers, according to the NCES, they still lag in completion rates. White students had a higher STEM bachelor’s degree completion rate than did Hispanic or Black students. According to the NSES, less than 6% of engineering graduates are represented by Hispanics.  No question that increasing the number of engineering grads is imperative to the economic sustainability of the United States. Yet, engineering educational institutions as well as employers have not been effectively developing or tapping the skills and talents of Hispanics – a still missed opportunity.

The results of a recent study by Encuesta Inc. show that Hispanics feel corporations are less engaged and involved in the Hispanic community than a few years ago. According to the results (via Hispanic PR Blog):

The findings show that Hispanics have lost confidence in major corporations’ role in their community. Even though Hispanics find it increasingly more important that major corporations be “good” corporate citizens in their community in 2009 compared to 2005 (86% in 2009 vs. 81% in 2005, on a top two box basis), they believe that the major corporations are doing remarkably less than they were five years ago (36% in 2009 vs. 12% in 2005).

The purchasing power of the Hispanic market is apparent, and results like these might have some impact on how organizations market to Hispanics; however, another question is this: how do results like this impact the recruitment of Hispanic workforce into your organization?

As some employers struggle to increase representation of the Hispanic workforce and other minorities into their organizations, potential employees of color will certainly research how organizations are giving back to their respective communities. And while corporate social responsibility reports might tout their successes, study’s like these indicate there is a definite perceptual gap between an organization’s efforts and the perceptions of a minority group.

It’s important for employers to pay attention to these results (and others like this) because it continues to confirm the perception that organizations are more interested in selling their products to a minority community than attracting them into their businesses.

Another great article by Lorelle L. Espinosa, director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, regarding what colleges and universities are responsible for graduating minority students in STEM fields. Dr. Espinosa makes an excellent point that a significant  representation of minorities in STEM careers will not occur until ALL institutions make a commitment to graduating more minorities in these fields. Good read.

Hispanics have a long history of U.S. military service. The number of Hispanics having earned the Congressional Medal of Honor has been a source of pride and distinction for the Hispanic community. In fact, the first Hispanic CMOH recipient was given to a corporal during the Civil War in the Battle of Gettysburg. According to recent military data, Hispanics have seen a dramatic increase in the number of enlisted personnel serving in all branches of the U.S. military. But despite their increasing numbers, Hispanics remain under-represented at the officer level. That’s why it was great to see this post via The Americano describing the partnership between the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Employers and the United States Armed Forces. The goal is create more opportunities for Hispanics in the military at all levels of the military through scholarships and other educational approaches.

An article in the Texas Tribune provides an excellent overview of the challenges faced by some Texas community colleges in their objective of getting their students to transfer to 4 year institutions. Certainly a lot of work to be done regarding budget, programs, and infrastructure. According to the article: “Statewide, among full-time students, black students ended up dropping out with no credential in 68 percent of cases, compared with 59 percent for Hispanics, 53 percent for whites and 46 percent for Asians.” That’s an amazing number of students “spinning their wheels” in what is supposed to be a bridge to higher education for many. This is only one state – no doubt the issue is nationwide.