From the Classroom to Corporate: Latinx Postsecondary Attainment, Occupation, and Workplace Racial Microaggressions

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 10:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Latinidad: Diverse Perspectives and Educational Implications (Table 10)

Abstract

The Latinx demographic represents nearly 20% of the total population and is the nation’s second largest racial and ethnic group (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). In 2021, the number of Latinx students aged 18 to 24 increased their college enrollment by 2.4%, up from 1.2 million since 2005. The Latinx community is outpacing other groups in postsecondary enrollment (Mora, 2022), entrepreneurship (Stangler, 2023), and purchasing power (Obolenskaya, 2021).While postsecondary degrees can create better career opportunities, the same inequitable conditions Latinx students face within educational systems may be reproduced in their workplace environments. With little empirical evidence documenting such conditions, this study explores the relationship between postsecondary attainment, occupational roles, and workplace racial microaggressions among Latinx professionals in the US corporate workforce.

Authors

• Nathan M. Castillo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Nichole M. Garcia, Rutgers University