Annual forum highlights growth and inequities in Sacramento's Hispanic communities
SACRAMENTO - The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held its annual State of Hispanics Forum on Friday. It highlighted growth but also highlighted continued inequities.
Elvia Ramirez was one of the researchers on this year's report on Sacramento's Hispanic communities.
"Policymakers may want to take a look at the report and devise ways of developing policies that can help address and hopefully resolve some of the inequities that we see," she said.
One of the most glaring inequities surrounded health care, where Hispanic adults were twice as likely to not have health care coverage than non-Hispanic adults.
"Healthcare is mostly tied to economics, so if you have a good-paying job, you can afford to go to the doctor, you are more likely to have insurance," said Cathy Rodriguez-Aguirre.
The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has plans for now and in the future to introduce more Hispanic kids to STEM programs.
"How are we getting those pathways to making sure that people are going to jobs that are more than living wage but are actually making a transformation in their families?" said Rodriguez-Aguirre.
To help build cultural pathways through education, where participation numbers are up, Elvia Ramirez believes they can make the current Hispanic increases in educational attainment even more significant.
They hope to make next year's report even better for a potential Hispanic middle class.
"It's a regional focus. As a region what we saw is that we're moving forward and there are things in place," said Cathy Rodriguez-Aguirre.
The Chamber of Commerce report also showed that the average Hispanic annual salary checked in at $68,000, compared to $81,000 for non-Hispanic communities.