Setting A Latina Agenda In The New Millennium
In 1998 the Chicana/Latina Foundation began convening focus groups on key issues pertinent to their community. The four areas they concentrated on examined the status of Latinas in business and economic development, education, health, and public policy. The purpose of the first Chicana/Latina Foundation symposium was to initiate dialogue with Latinas in the Bay Area on important issues impacting Latinas. The symposium, entitled A Latina Agenda for the New Millennium, took place at the Airport Clarion Hotel in Millbrae, California, on September 22nd and 23rd, 2000, with over 200 people attending the two-day conference and scholarship reception. The following goals & objective represent the results of that symposium. These recommendations for action were established by conference attendees.
The Chicana/Latina Foundation is committed to working on this agenda in partnership with those who share this important vision.
Goals & Objectives
Improve the economic status of Latinas in all sectors (business, nonprofit, government)
- Support financial literary programs
- Increase understanding of employment law
- Support living wage initiatives
- Educating Latina entrepreneurs how to access loan programs and venture capital
- Support policies that continue: AA, EEO, and other diversity-promoting programs
- Promote the development of qualified Latinas to governance positions in the corporate and nonprofit sectors
- Support formal and informal mentorship leadership and skill development programs
- Support family-friendly work policies
Significantly expand the number of Latinas entering and succeeding in higher education and graduate degree programs
- Increase access to relevant course work (K - 12)
- Support policies to address inequities in public school finance
- Increase access to subsidized college test preparation courses
- Support efforts aimed at building public awareness and knowledge of the social value of a multilingual society
- Increase access to current technologies in schools, homes, and community service agencies
Improve the health and quality of life for Latinas throughout their life spans
- Expand affordable health insurance options for Latinas and their families
- Support and participate in quality of care initiatives through culturally and linguistically competent programs and trainings
- Support efforts to simplify enrollment in government-sponsored programs
- Encourage efforts to enhance employer-sponsored health insurance
- Support policies and budget support for safety net clinics and hospitals
- Enhance partnerships across all sectors to prevent teen pregnancy
- Support and participate in the design of family planning programs and services including affordable birth control, pre-natal care and abortion services
- Support efforts targeting de-stigmatization, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental health disorders, especially depression, among Latinas
- Promote policies and programs that reduce marketing and access to alcohol
- Expand the Violence Against Women Act and advance community education, outreach, and reporting of domestic violence
- Support partnerships, funding, and coordinated care for chronic disease(s), especially diabetes
- Promote policies that promote alternatives to incarceration and advocate for comprehensive quality health care services for incarcerated Latinas