Mapping Latina Futures: An Exploration of Latina College-to-Career Pathways

• In Event: 21061 - Section on Race, Gender, and Class Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6: DEI in the Workplace and Higher Education

Abstract

In this paper, I explore how Latina women navigate the uncertainty of college-to-career pathways in a landscape that is characterized by racial capitalism and conflicting schemes of success by using a method of critical qualitative journey mapping in conjunction with semi-structured interviews. I examine the implications of mobility in the afterlives of higher education through 30+ interviews with a Millennial cohort (born between 1986-1996) of Latinas with at least a bachelor's degree. During interviews, participants created a visual map of their major life decisions and relationships after graduation and reflected on their own professional and emotional growth beyond higher education. These maps inspired conversations around the limitations of their degrees after graduation in regard to 'giving back' as they personal struggled in the transition between college and career, although many respondents found ways to creatively engage with their own solutions to inequities through their professional lines of work. The future implications of these conflicts and employment decisions are discussed.

Author

• Summer L. Lopez Colorado, University of California-Los Angeles