‘Something Has To Give’: Latinas Leaving Workforce At Faster Rate Than Other Groups



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Farida Mercedes and her two sons Sebastian, 5, (left) and Lucas, 7, stand in their backyard in Fairlawn, N.J. Mercedes left her job as an assistant VP of HR at L’Oreal in August after working there for 17 years. As hundreds of thousands of women dropped out of the workforce in September, Latinas led the way, leaving at nearly three times the rate of white women.

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Mercedes and her two sons Lucas, 7, (center) and Sebastian, 5, (right) play in their backyard. Mercedes’ husband is a guard at New York’s Rikers Island jail. Her sons struggled with home schooling, so in late August, with some trepidation, she gave up her corporate job.

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Analysts offer a variety of explanations for the widespread Latina exodus. Hispanic women are more likely to maintain a traditional view of mothers as primary caregivers.

«My mom, for all of my life, worked two jobs,» Mercedes said. «But there’s something about — in a Latino home — the matriarch, the mother that needs to be home.»

Even as some 324,000 Latinas left the job market last month, 87,000 Latino men joined the workforce.

Many Latinas also work in industries that have been hammered by the pandemic. While the overall unemployment rate fell last month, the jobless rate among Latinas rose to 11%.

Before the pandemic, Sabrina Castillo felt like she had a good balance between her job with the Campaign Finance Board in New York and her two children. Now, it feels like a tug-of-war, trying to manage a workplace team while also coaching her five-year-old through online lessons.

«I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’m a week behind on kindergarten homework,» Castillo said.

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Sabrina Castillo used to commute into Manhattan for her full-time job as director of partnerships and outreach for the Campaign Finance Board in New York City. With the pandemic, she feels like she’s been pulled in every direction with trying to balance work and family life. Castillo is leaving the job she’s held for eight years, right after the November election.

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Sabrina Castillo walks with her children Lorenzo, 5, and Camila, 3, in Hoboken, N.J. «If one parent has to be home, it’s probably going to be — in our culture — it’s going to be … the mother,» Castillo said.

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Castillo (left) visits her husband, Carlos, who owns Carlitos Barbecue Taqueria in Paramus, N.J. She tries to visit him about three times a week, sometimes with the kids and sometimes without them.

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The pandemic has forced Mercedes to reassess her outlook on work. She might return to the corporate world eventually, but in a capacity where she can also spend more time with her family.

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The pandemic has forced Mercedes to reassess her outlook on work. She might return to the corporate world eventually, but in a capacity where she can also spend more time with her family.

Erica Seryhm Lee for NPR

Mercedes realized just how much her outlook had changed this fall, when she got a recruiting call from Google, which had always been her dream job. After a month as a stay-at-home mom, she turned it down.

  • Latina workers
  • working mother
  • labor force
  • coronavirus
  • Unemployment



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