Acculturation: Hispanic Women in the Workplace and What Makes Them Stay?

Date of Degree

5-2004

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Education

Advisor

Annette Craven

Advisor

Jessica Kimmel

Advisor

Esmeralda de los Santos

Advisor

Francisco Lozada

Abstract

In addition to interviews, two of several corporations recognized for their strategic planning by the Catalyst Research Group participated in surveys of Hispanic women in management. The purpose of this study was to also investigate a relationship between acculturation, resilience, leadership style, phenotype, and levels of management. Research questions investigated whether upper-level managers score higher in acculturation, resiliency, and leadership style than Hispanic women in lower-level management. Data collected from personal interviews indicate that commitment from corporate leadership steer the greater organization toward a well-defined plan to diversify. Other factors contributing to their staying were mentoring, training, advancement opportunities, supportive working environment, and accountability. The level of acculturation for the mid-level/executive managers was slightly higher than the group of lower-level managers. For stress resiliency, the lower-level group scored high in two behaviors: Deficiency Focusing and Necessitating. The mid-level/executive manager group scored higher for a third behavior tested for stress resiliency: Skill Recognition. Survey results on leadership style indicated need for improvement two out of three at the mid-level/executive managers and three out of five lower-level managers. Phenotype characteristics were solicited from those survey participants. They indicated to be light to medium skin tones, brown eyes, and dark hair. Five Hispanic women who were interviewed did not resemble the more indigenous Hispanic. Three of the five were more European. Information gathered from surveys provided a descriptive approach that combines a qualitative and quantitative technique.

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