The House On Mango Street Glass Ceiling Analysis

There is a supposed "glass ceiling" when it comes to women in the workforce. This "glass ceiling" is a metaphor for a presumption that women are not able to reach the top of the business ladder because of their gender. Today, Hispanic-American women face challenges living between two cultures, and one of these is in employment. The so-called "glass ceiling" is even lower for them. Hispanic-American women receive reduced wages and are forced into stereotypical fields because of stereotypes and discrimination, and from their education. First, a challenge Hispanic-American women face is discrimination and stereotypes which lowers their wages and keeps them in certain job areas. On average, Hispanic-American women earn 15% less than women of
other ethnic backgrounds, and 17% less than Hispanic men (Women of Hispanic...).
In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the main characters, Esperanza, gets a job at a photo development store and says that she "borrowed money for lunch and bus fare because Aunt Lala said I wouldn't get paid till next Friday' (Cisneros 54). Esperanza is Hispanic-American and has a low income job, as she demonstrates the majority of her money will most likely go to her bus fare and buying food. Esperanza is then evidently in a low-paying job. Though there is no full evidence, it can be inferenced that possibly others at Esperanza's place of work make more money, as two women there, who seem to be white, are happy in their job, while Esperanza is miserable the whole time. Women are also overrepresented in the operator, fabricator, and laborer occupations ( Women of Hispanic...). This may be because of the stereotype of Hispanics in the United States as being illegal immigrants as illegal immigrants are mainly employed in the service industries, as unskilled laborers, and as housekeepers (Hispanic Women Living...). People may assume that they can pay all Hispanics substandard wages and possibly not hire them if they attempt to be employed in fields that require more skill. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza describes her job: " I was
supposed to match the negatives with their prints, just look at the picture and look for the same one on the negative strip, put it in the envelope and do the next one. That's all..." (Cisneros 54). Esperanza's job would be best described as unskilled labor, as it is a very basic job that requires human work. While Esperanza is most likely a citizen, based on the fact her father had immigrated to the United States before she was born, she still has a job that is in a category where illegal immigrants, and Hispanic women , generally fall. This may be because, as they are Hispanic, employers assume they are illegal immigrants, which prevents Hispanic- American women from acquiring jobs in fields other than those of illegal immigrants. Therefore, the discrimination and stereotypes present a challenge to Hispanic-American women in employment through lesser wages and the types of jobs they can acquire. Second, education of Hispanic -American women creates another challenge in employment, as Hispanic-American women are among the least educated of the population, which creates challenges in moving up in their careers, and in getting a good job not in a stereotypical field.
Fewer than half of Hispanic-American women have high school degrees and the dropout rate reaches 75%in some areas (Hispanic Women and Education). About 35% of Hispanic women that work have not graduated high school and only 30% have gone to college, with a great majority only having gone for one year (Women of Hispanic...). There is a girl named Alicia in The House on Mango Street, and Esperanza says that, " Alicia... is young and smart and studies for the first time at the university...because she doesn't want to spend her whole life in a factory or behind a rolling pin" (Cisneros 31). Alicia represents a minority of Hispanic- American women by going to college and staying committed to it. She does not want a job in a factory, which many Hispanic-American women have, as a factory worker would fall in the operator category ( Women of Hispanic...). Because Alicia is studying so she does not get a job in a factory, it can be assumed that if she didn't she would and it says that a great deal of Hispanic- American women do end up working in a factory and those that do are not highly educated. Also, the culture of Hispanic-American women shows them that they should not have high goals, which may attribute to
the educational challenges, as they do not see a reason to continue with school. Esperanza's mother says," I could have been somebody, you know? Esperanza, you go to school. Study hard...I quit school" (Cisneros 91). Esperanza's mother dropped out of high school, as that was the image conveyed to her, not because she did not feel she could handle it, as she makes clear. She sees that the image was wrong and that without education, it will be impossible for Esperanza to get anywhere, which is why she encourages her to stay in school and not do what she did. Because of the lower education of Hispanic-American women, challenges arise in the forms of less opportunity. Whether the "glass ceiling" theory is true or not, it is true that Hispanic-American women do face challenges in employment. These challenges are mainly brought about through discrimination and stereotypes, and education. But as racial differences and stereotypes disappear in today's soceity,and as more and more Hispanic-American women get better education, there is hope that someday this "glass ceiling" will shatter.