The Chicano's Role

After reading the two essays I immediately compared the challenge Chicana artists’ face to that of women here in California. Women on Average make about 79%* as their male counter parts. That is to say, those women with the same job description are paid less for doing the same job, even though requirements to obtain any given position remain the same. Woman in California on the other hand, are paid slightly above the national average at 83%*. This is an awful statistic which quickly becomes even more discussing when we look even further. Black women make 54%* of their male counter parts and the other thing that makes this figure palatable is that Latinas make 44%* of males in the state of California. This tells me that society is saying that women with Latin origins are considered less than half “valuable” or “useful” as males.

It is my stance that this could not be further from the truth. I for one have been around some of the most impressive women. These women have shaped and molded me into becoming a better person as a whole.

This information brings me to a series of questions. As I look to the articles, I can’t help but wonder what the author would like males, especially Chicanos to do? How would you like us to assist our fellow, and deserving partners in humanity?

*All statistics were taken from http://www.aauw.org/