In 2007, more than 1.5 million Hispanics lived in Illinois, yet only 291 of those were Hispanic women holding administrative positions.

“There is not a sustainable representation of Hispanic women in leadership roles,” said Zoraida Irizarry, advanced Spanish instructor at Lake Land College.

Irizarry focused on this lack of representation during her presentation Wednesday night titled “Hispanic Women in Higher Education: Leadership and Career Advancement.”

“Hispanics became the largest minority in the United States in 2007,” Irizarry stated in her presentation. The total U.S. Hispanic population reached 37.4 million in 2007.

“I was surprised that the Hispanic population is the largest in the United States,” said Dana Barnard, assistant director of student life.

Despite this high population, Irizarry’s research showed that in Illinois, 8,035 Hispanic women were students in higher education institutions in 2007, and 408 Hispanic women were instructors.

A main point Irizarry kept reiterating was that Hispanic women land in dead end jobs frequently.

“They get in dead end positions that limit them, and they can’t make a difference to a large Latino population,” Irizarry said.

Another challenge for Hispanic women in the education field is the need to negotiate a comfortable salary, she said.

Being able to get support and funding to do more research and publish work is another problem, Irizarry said.

Hayley Pieper, a sophomore business major, found the facts interesting, and at times, startling.

“I was unaware of the struggles of women in higher education . such as salary discrepancies and promotional opportunities,” Pieper said.

Dion Martorano can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].