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Culture Conflict: Looking Latina
At Latinas Uprising, we talk a lot about forms of assimilation and how to “look” like an attorney. These discussions aren’t done because we believe that we should erase all forms of individuality or culture from our appearance; rather they are provided as a way to give guidance for those that haven’t had the chance to interact with the legal profession and want to learn how to be accepted by the legal community. Ultimately, the goal is to help people learn what it takes to be accepted as an attorney, but also encourage empowerment so that you are the one that decides what your appearance will entail, regardless of what the status…
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One down, 11 to go.
I hope everyone is sticking to their resolutions or making moves to accomplish those goals! We’re excited for the start of a new month and are ready to double-down on work to help move us towards some of our objectives for 2015. One goal was to wake up earlier to catch a ride with my husband to work. That may not seem meaningful, but driving to downtown Chicago gives us an extra 20 minutes of quality time together and I get reminded regularly how much I love this city–exhibit A (which doesn’t do the city justice): As it’s the last Friday of the month, we’re sharing some of our…
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A Latina’s Worth: Combating the Wage Gap
One of Latinas Uprising’s focal points, when it comes to discussing women, equality, and progress is almost always on women and the workplace; most importantly, women and the income we earn. The sad reality is that we earn a pittance compared to other groups and that impacts our quality of life (and that of our families), our earning potential, and our economic capital. So any raised awareness on the income disparity and how to close gap is very much welcomed! At a recent dinner with friends, the conversation turned to a good way to negotiate a salary (one friend was starting a new job). My naïve, idealistic side—the one that’s never…
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A Saga: Finding Professional Winter Shoes
I have always disliked the patronizing focus on what women wear to work. I think it’s weird. The grand majority of us know how to (and do) wear appropriate clothing. But there is still a weird standard set upon women, especially in the legal field, that is much higher and seems to question every little thing that we decide to wear. Google “peep-toe shoes and work” and you’ll see debate after debate on their appropriateness. Shoes. As if there are not more substantial, important things that we should worry about, but this is a great reminder that there are rules of professional etiquette that we do have to learn…
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Off the Sidelines: Women in Political Office
Did everyone catch the State of the Union last night? It definitely has some buzzy moments, but one thing that caught my attention was a pundit mentioning that this is the most diverse congress the U.S. has ever had. That is true, even though the group looks as homogenous as ever. But what strikes me is that there are only nine (9!) Hispanic women representing us in the House and none in the Senate. I’m happy for the strides we have made, but still have a long way to go. We’ve spoken about the group Latinas Represent and their push to promote more Latinas into politics. I still encourage anyone…
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Quarterly Report: Saving for Retirement
We’re back again with another post on money! Before we dive in, can I tell you a secret? Before I got married, I used to tell my boyfriend (now husband) that because I was Latina I didn’t need to save for retirement–my kids would take care of me, obvi. Of course, I was joking, but the idea that family helps our viejitos is so deeply entrenched that I never really gave much thought about saving for the long-haul. But then as I learned more and more about gender inequity, the wage gap, and saw how poverty continues to afflict women, I realized that saving for retirement at an early age…
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Connecting a Cultural Divide, a Book Review
I recently finished reading Cup of Water Under my Bed (CWUB) and I highly recommend it! CWUB is a memoir by Daisy Hernandez, a Latina with a Cuban father and Colombian mother. A New Yorker who became a journalist for the New York Times before moving on to write progressive pieces with a focus on social justice. I became interested in reading CWUB just by the title alone. I grew up with Mexican culture/traditions, so when I heard, “cup of water under a bed,” I didn’t think of Santeria (which is the context of the title), but rather remembered my mom would cure me from Ojo and place a cup of water…
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Organization for the Disorganized
What I really like about the beginning year is that it’s a fresh start for me to try to work on improving my organization at work. For many type-As, it’s pretty easy to stay organized, but I am basically the opposite of a type-A when it comes to organization. My motto is that there is usually a method to my madness, though on the surface my office could seem cluttered and well…disorganized! Because I know what my tendencies are when it comes to organization, I have developed sensible, easy, and visual tools that have kept me right on track at work. Some of these tips may not work in places where you…
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What Did You Miss?
We’re so excited for 2015! We have a lot of fun and informative plans in store for everyone! Though we’ve only been sharing information for the past four months, we wanted to share our favorite posts thus far: For prelaw students: our first part of the Breaking Barriers series. For law students: creating institutional change at your school even when faced with resistance. For attorneys: navigating the rules of professional etiquette, starting with your wardrobe. For those creating work-life balance: What to do when family obligations become obstacles. Of course my ultimate favorite is our mission statement! We’ve had a really great four months and look forward to the New…
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Setting and Achieving Goals
We’re keeping things a little light and easy since we’re easing back from the holidays, and are eagerly waiting for the New Year. During the new year, I really love taking this time to assess my current station in life and see where I can create change and improvement. I know some find New Year’s resolutions a little cheesy, but I think it makes sense to start the year with a clean slate and make an effort to progress in either our personal or professional lives. The problem, of course, is the difficulty in creating healthy habits (or stopping bad ones). So today we’re offering a few steps to take…