Uses firsthand interviews with Hispanic women leaders to better understand how they obtained professional success in the United States. It examines what barriers they overcame and what strategies they used. Twelve Hispanic women in leadership positions in academia, government, and private sector employment provided data for this study, the results of which prove that there are key ingredients to success in life: hard work, family support, self-respect, determination, and goal-orientation, all of which helped these people to accomplish their career aspirations.

Though the percentage of Hispanics in universities continues to grow, few Hispanic women/Latinas advance into leadership positions; instead, many are constrained by a glass ceiling. Therefore, the voices and experiences of those that have overcome these barriers in higher education are pivotal stories to be told. Ranging from the perceptions of these women’s journeys to leadership, to an understanding of the barriers they encounter, to the question of their access to the resources they need, each factor is a critical component to understanding Hispanic women/Latinas in the higher education atmosphere. Comprehensive research in this area is needed to explore the themes of identity in terms of racial/ethic identification, social perception, and gender, along with systemic themes on the institutional level regarding the recruitment, retention, and promotion of a diverse higher education administration. Hispanic Women/Latina Leaders Overcoming Barriers in Higher Education explores the recruitment, promotion, retention process, and the barriers and resilience needed for Hispanic women/Latinas in higher education leadership roles. The chapters use data collected via a qualitative, phenomenological research study including open-ended interviews, field notes, biographical questionnaires, and a researcher’s reflective journal. While covering topics surrounding these women’s experiences such as identity themes, self-identification, institutional shortcomings, and valuable support systems, this book is ideally intended for Latina educators, informing legislators, educational officials, and higher education administrators along with practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in institutional equality, female empowerment, and Hispanic women/Latinas’ journey in higher education.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine, through interviews, what educational and socio-cultural characteristics Hispanic women leaders in higher education possess. This study also provides an outlet for four Hispanic women leaders to share their unique experiences and journeys during their rise to administration. They were able to share their perceptions of their own career paths. The results offer advice for other Hispanic women aspiring to ascend into leadership positions. The in-depth descriptions of their personal experiences provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the types of barriers associated with access to higher educational leadership positions. The findings of this study expand the current body of knowledge, contributing significant information about Hispanic female leaders. The research design of this study was qualitative, using inquiring interviews to unleash the stories of four Texan Hispanic women leaders. The findings were based on face-to-face interviews with the Dr. Margot Perez-Greene, Director of NISOD, Dr. Juliet Garcia, President of Southmost College and the University of Texas at Brownsville, Dr. Ana "Cha" Guzmán, President of Palo Alto College, and Dr. Tessa Martinez Pollack, President of Our Lady of the Lake University. This qualitative study focused on five research questions: (1) What childhood or family background experiences and academic preparation did they have? (2) What career paths and patterns they have? (3) What were their perceived professional barriers? (4) Who were influential persons in their lives? and (5) What advice might they offer other Hispanic women wishing to become leaders in education? Each woman's unique story provided emerging themes using statements provided by the women themselves. The uniqueness of their stories deserved their own chapter in this dissertation. The syntheses of their emerging themes are displayed in the form of a matrix chart. This study provided a voice to Margot's, Juliet's, Tessa's, and Cha's life stories - Hispanic women seeking leadership positions in higher education can comprehend what four women experienced and in their own way apply it in their attempt to reach a similar level of educational leadership. Further research is recommended to include the life stories of additional Hispanic female leaders in other states across the nation to identify shared characteristics and emerging themes.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of Hispanic women in leadership positions as they traveled the roads to successful careers. The study also attempted to discover how Hispanic female leaders were able to achieve professional success in the United States: what barriers they encountered and what strategies they used to overcome the obstacles. This study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological framework to obtain, analyze, and interpret rich descriptive data in order to answer the research questions. Standardized, semi-structured, digitally recorded interviews with twelve Hispanic females employed in leadership positions in academia, government, and the private sector provided rich descriptive data for this study. Seven essential themes emerged because of the coding and data analysis. These seven essential themes represented common characteristics of the participants of this study, and explained their professional success: (a) family, (b) winner mentality, (c) desire to give back to community, (d) religious beliefs, spirituality, and luck, (e) opportunities, (f) keeping Hispanic roots, and (g) mentoring. The results of the study revealed that family support, hard work, self-respect, self-determination, and goal-orientation helped the participants to accomplish their career aspirations. Also revealed was a drive for success and lack of a pre-conceived sense of inequality contributed to the professional success of the participants. The findings imply that it is necessary to create information centers for professional Hispanic females who move to this country. Conclusions suggest that it is very important to create additional centers for English language training and establish mentoring programs for aspiring Hispanic females.

Latinas in the Workplace highlights the stories of eight exceptional women. It is the third book in the Journeys to Leadership series that features stories about extraordinary women who have found paths to success in male-dominated arenas. Even though each took a different route to success, these women share an overarching, almost implicit, understanding of what they aspired to: the freedom to choose where and how to invest time and energy, to establish professional and personal balance, and enjoy the luxury of defining that balance.Despite their different professional aspirations, their journeys are rooted in similar ground tilled long before they entered the work world—a strong sense of family, influential religious traditions, and formidable ties to their cultural heritage. The eight Latinas showcased in this book – a foundation president, two business CEOs, a doctor, a former college president, a teacher and author, and two school superintendents – grew up with a determination to get educated that was fostered by parents and grandparents. All of them hold advanced degrees. Engrained in each of them is a sense of honor, the need to treat others with respect, and an inner strength—qualities nurtured by family members. While each had to contend with negative forces, whether from within or outside their culture, and drew strength from the experience, they also acknowledge that being able to navigate two cultures, and being bilingual, has given them a unique perspective and two distinct ways of dealing with people. Although Latinos constitute one of the fastest growing segments of our population, these Latina leaders represent a relatively small percentage of women in leadership in the United States. They hope that their stories inspire not only their contemporaries but the next generation of Latinas as well. The women profiled in this book are: Sarita Brown, President, Excelencia in Education; Tina Cordova, President, Queston Construction; Sally Garza Fernandez, President, Fernandez Group; Carmella Franco, Superintendent, Woodland California School District; Christine Johnson, former President, Community College of Denver; Thelma López-Lira, M.D.Darline Robles, Executive Officer for the Los Angeles County Office of Education; Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf, Author and Instructor at the State University of New York in Oswego.

This dissertation was a summative program evaluation with qualitative inquiry of the Latinas Learning to Lead Summer Youth Institute. This week-long leadership development program is exclusive to college-age Hispanic women. To determine if the mission and its objectives were attained, program graduates completed a survey and were then invited to participate in an in-depth interview. Data gathered found that the program mission and objectives were met. Various themes of significance included a need for role models and mentors, increased confidence and motivation, sense of cultural belonging, and realization of self-truths. Further research should include a longitudinal study as well as research on those Hispanic young women who were not able to participate in this program.