This article originally appeared on Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow., a CNBC multiplatform financial wellness and education initiative, in partnership with Acorns.
Maria Rangel came to Los Angeles from Colombia five years ago with her infant son and $500, hoping to realize the American dream.
And, she did.
“We had not much and now we have a home,” said Rangel, who bought a condo two years ago.
The 35-year-old single mom credits the L.A.-based nonprofit New Economics for Women with providing the resources she needed to get on her feet and eventually become a homeowner.
“When I got involved, it was because I heard that they were giving away clothes for kids and diapers,” she said. Then she sought counseling on affordable housing to help her rent an apartment and later attended workshops and programs for first-time homebuyers.
“We want to ensure that families are able to thrive from generation to generation,” said New Economics for Women co-founder Bea Stotzer. “You cannot do that unless you leave a legacy of assets. We see homeownership as critical to that.”
Founded in 1985, the Latina-led organization has served more than 17,000 individuals and families in Los Angeles county in the past year alone.
“For Latinas especially, they have been impacted by this incredible pandemic to a degree that no one really understands,” Stotzer said.
Job losses and reduced wages have created a cascading crisis in housing, food, and economic stability for many women and families during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in the Latino community. Latinas are working on the front lines of the Covid crisis, and are disproportionately represented among health care and childcare workers, providing essential services.
Wage gap
“They are employed in industries that we now refer to as ‘essential’, but a year ago we were referring to them as wage workers or the ‘working poor’,” said Jacob William Faber, associate professor of sociology and public service at New York University.
And, a long-standing wage gap between people of color and Whites has contributed to an even wider wealth gap, especially for Latina women.
Research from the National Women’s Law Center shows Latinas are typically paid just 55 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men. That wage gap means many can’t save enough to afford a down payment on a home, start a business or save for retirement. As a result, data show single Latinas own only $100 in wealth for every $28,900 single White men have.
“We often think about assets as something that comes from careful planning and saving and prudent investing,” Faber said. “But there’s a lot more going on, income inequality, inheritance, discrimination.”
“What’s amazing now, because of Covid, it’s almost even more accelerated,” Stotzer said of this wealth gap. Not having the right wages is one factor. Other obstacles include not having access to capital, not having access to credit, she said.
Hard-hit businesses
Many Latinas also own or manage businesses in industries that have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, including restaurants, personal care services, such as hair and nail salons, as well as retail and apparel. Many of those businesses have closed.
Yet Rangel, a freelance fashion designer, just landed a job running a new program. She’s giving back to those seeking assistance from the same non-profit that helped her.
“It’s like the knowledge that I have, I’m pouring out,” Rangel said. “We’re giving webinars on fashion. So we have pattern-making, sewing techniques, we have to know how to start a business.”
That, Stotzer said, is the organization’s mission, sparking economic mobility for women, particularly Latinas and their families, to create their own opportunities.
Disclosure: Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow. is a financial wellness and education initiative from CNBC and Acorns, the micro-investing app. NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.
Sharon Epperson, CNBC
As CNBC's personal finance correspondent and senior commodities correspondent, Sharon Epperson reports on personal finance for the network and also covers the global energy, metals and commodities markets from the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In addition to reporting for CNBC and CNBC.com, Epperson is a regular contributor on NBC's Today and Today.comand appears frequently on NBC Nightly News, MSNBC and NBC affiliates nationwide. She also frequently reports for Public Television's "Nightly Business Report," which is now produced by CNBC. Her book, "The Big Payoff: 8 Steps Couples Can Take to Make the Most of Their Money—and Live Richly Ever After," was a finalist for the Books for a Better Life Awards, honoring works that have "changed the lives of millions." She also was a contributing writer for "The Experts' Guide to Doing Things Faster." Epperson's personal finance expertise has been featured in numerous publications, including USA Weekend, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Self, Essence, Ebony and Time, where she had covered business, culture, social issues and health as a correspondent prior to joining CNBC. She is committed to improving financial literacy, particularly in underserved communities. She has been invited to the White House to speak about financial literacy and to moderate a public meeting of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability at the U.S. Treasury Department. She also speaks frequently at conferences and events for local and national organizations, colleges and universities about many facets of personal finance. Epperson has received the Vanguard Award for her distinguished career in business and personal finance reporting from the National Urban League Guild, the All-Star Award from the Association of Women in Communications and the Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television for a series of reports on female CEOs. She also has won awards from the New York Festivals, the New York Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists. An adjunct professor at Columbia University's School of International Public Affairs for more than a decade, Epperson enjoys teaching the importance of budgeting and building long-term savings as part of her course on professional development for graduate students interested in media careers. Epperson received her bachelor's in sociology and government from Harvard University, and a master's of international affairs degree from Columbia University. A Pittsburgh native, Epperson lives with her husband and two children in Westchester County, N.Y.