Government's Role in the under Representation of Latinas in Public Employment

Abstract

The under representation of Latinas (Hispanic women) in management positions in local government may be determined more by the failure of elected officials to rationally and equitably apply equal employment policies to Latinas than to demographic, availability, or educational factors. This research explores entrenched patterns of under representation between Latinas and their non-Hispanic female counterparts through an analysis of triangulated data and trends from these sources relative to the representation of Latinas in management (decision-making) positions in the largest county government work force in the nation. Employment patterns for Latinas in management positions show that 25 years after Los Angeles County enacted comprehensive affirmative action and equal employment policies, across both gender and ethnic or racial lines, Latinas remain the most underrepresented of any protected group in management. The few theories and hypotheses accounting for historic ethnic and gender labor force under representation in public employment fail to clarify and account for these patterns of sustained underutilization. Government's failure to exercise its power and accept responsibility for these results appears as the most obvious and consistent contributor to employment discrimination of Latinas. County government officials must carefully weigh the ramifications of various legal options available to Latina employees.