Investing in stocks or opening retirement savings accounts has long been elusive for many Latinos, but social media and podcasts that offer culturally relevant financial coaching are turning that on its head. U.S. Latinos' economic power is growing, yet they are less likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to have savings, retirement and non-retirement investment accounts. READ MORE AT AXIOS

Although the situation is improving, Latinos and especially Mexican Americans, remain very underrepresented in US health professions that require advanced degrees, according to a study published today in the journal Health Affairs. The study by George Washington University researchers is the first to examine the representation of the four largest Latino populations in the US health workforce and the findings raise concerns about the lack of diversity in the US health workforce. READ MORE AT MILKEN INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, honored five leaders and trailblazers tonight for creating meaningful change for the Latino community. UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía presented the awards during the gala marking the conclusion of the organization’s 2023 Annual Conference in Chicago.

“These honorees personify the tenacity and fortitude it takes to make meaningful and enduring strides toward equity,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía. “These are the people who reflect the true fabric of our country. The leaders committed to ensuring the Latino perspective is woven into all parts of our society, whether it’s the media, community development, or activism.” READ MORE AT UNIDOSUS

According to the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), significant wealth disparities exist between families of different races and ethnicities, including between white households and Hispanic/Latino households. White families have a median wealth of $188,200, whereas Hispanic families have a median wealth of $36,100. Another way to look at the SCF data is that the average white family has five times the wealth of the average Hispanic family. READ MORE AT BROOKINGS

Latinos, as well as other underrepresented groups, often face significant challenges and barriers to pursuing higher education. In reality, racial disparities and discrimination persist in numerous aspects of society, especially in higher education. There are disparities in college enrollment rates, graduation rates, access to resources, and representation among faculty and staff members. READ MORE AT THE BOSTON GLOBE

Latino Conservation Week kicks off this weekend with dozens of events in California and almost 300 meetups across the nation. The program started ten years ago with just 16 events, meant to get the Hispanic community outdoors and motivated to protect the environment.

Next month, the Hispanic Access Foundation will launch an air-quality monitoring program called "El Aire que Respiramos", which means "The air we breathe." It is a collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency that will place air-monitoring equipment in Los Angeles, La Mirada, San Bernardino and Thermal. READ MORE AT PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

Radio is immensely popular among US Latinos. According to Nielsen, broadcast radio leads all other platforms in reaching Latino audiences on a monthly basis. In 2022, 97 per cent of US Latinos tuned in to radio each month, compared to 92 per cent of the general population. From 2017 to 2022, live TV viewership declined 13 per cent among Latinos to 84 per cent.

Spanish is also the US’s most common non-English language, spoken by nearly 50mn people in the country — 12 times greater than the next four most common languages, according to Census Bureau data. READ MORE AT FINANCIAL TIMES

Cisco Systems, the multinational tech giant based in San Jose, has no Latino on its board of directors. Ditto for Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.

Ditto for Tesla — which moved offices to Austin, Texas, from Palo Alto last year — and for a host of other Fortune 100 companies with millions of Latino customers, employees and suppliers. Among them: Amazon, FedEx, Albertsons, Kroger, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Exxon Mobil, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, United Parcel Service and Berkshire Hathaway.

Latinos are the nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority — accounting for 18.9% of the population — and its fastest-growing group. READ MORE AT YAHOO FINANCE

A recent data analysis of the 2020 census shows the number of Latino children in the U.S. grew by more than 1 million in a 10-year period.

The analysis, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, offers additional insight into the U.S. population and the ways it has changed since the previous census in 2010. Researchers found that 25.7% (18.8 million) of all U.S. children under 18 were of Latino origin in 2020, up from 23.1% (17.1 million) in 2010.

The Latino population also saw an increase in their overall median age to 30 years old, up 2.7 years from 2010. Non-Hispanics’ median age also grew, but less: they reached a median of 41.1 years of age in 2020, up 1.5 years from 2010. READ MORE AT NBCNEWS

Hispanics are now confirmed as the largest demographic group in Texas with more than 12 million residents, while non-Hispanic white population is estimated to be 11.9 million, according to new data from the Census Bureau.

Texas added 262,000 new white residents, as well as about 223,000 Hispanic residents from July 2021 to July 2022, but overall Hispanic population outnumbered white population by 128,938 people. READ MORE AT THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

The Illinois Office of Tourism recognizes the rich diversity across the state, and as Pride Month approaches, it’s developed a guide highlighting  the various activities  throughout the month. Illinois has significant historical and educational opportunities for residents and visitors to engage in during the month, in addition to various celebrations across the state. 

The guide offers Illinois residents and visitors alike opportunities  to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community throughout Pride month. Whether it is a Pride parade in Elgin or Aurora, attending the House Music Festival & Conference in Chicago, a family-friendly Pride Picnic in Galena or simply an educational activity like a stroll through the historic Northalsted Legacy Walk in Chicago, the guide to celebrate Pride in Illinois  has a variety of diverse, educational and engaging opportunities to observe Pride Month.

Some of the featured activities include:

• Elgin’s First Pride Parade & Festival (June 3) is an all-ages, family-friendly event featuring a festival celebration with food, music and various vendors that will be followed by a parade in Downtown.
• Aurora Pride Parade (June 11) will host its fourth annual parade, beginning at noon Downtown and celebrating its LGBTQIA+ community and allies.
• House Music Festival & Conference (June 24)presented in conjunction with the Taste of Chicago pop-up in Humboldt Park, the House festival brings a full day of DJs to the mainstage, including DJ Roy Davis Jr., DJ Psycho-B, NoshaLuv, DJ Emmaculate, and DJ V, with more to be announced.
• Galena Pride Picnic (June 10) the third annual picnic in Grant Park, will feature a full agenda, including live music, drag queen story time, tai chi and a meet and greet with goats.
• Woodstock Pride (June 10–11) is an all-day celebration beginning with a parade and ending with a fabulous closing ceremony in Historic Woodstock Square, featuring live entertainment, vendors and food trucks. Additional events include a Rainbow Color Fun Run and Pride Pub Crawl.
• The Queer Fam Pride Jam (June 17) is an all-ages Pride event featuring a day’s worth of wellness, creativity-focused events, culminating in a family-friendly Slo ‘Mo dance party
• The Annual Quad City UNITY Pride Parade  (June 17) will be held at Schwiebert Riverfront Park, featuring live music, local vendors, drag performances and burlesque. In addition, Pride Movies will be hosted at the Frigge on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sundays during June.
• Chicago Pride in the Park (June 23 - 24) is a two-day music fest celebrating equity, diversity, and good times in Grant Park. Portions of proceeds support The Center on Halsted and provide free entries to LGBTQ+ youth in support of celebrating their pride openly and safely. 
• Chicago Pride Parade (June 25) is one of the most popular LGBTQ+ events in the Chicago region, the parade concludes month-long celebrations with a parade the last Sunday in June through Northalsted, Uptown, Lakeview and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

There are so many ways to celebrate Pride Month across Illinois! Find out more at EnjoyIllinois.com.

A recent study finds the financial capability of Latinos improved over the last decade, but obstacles to Latino wealth remain.

Between 2009 and 2021, the number of Latinos reporting that they had set aside some amount of emergency savings nearly doubled, from 29% in 2009 to 48% in 2021. On the whole, Latino adults reported they were “better able to manage everyday money matters” and experienced less “financial fragility” in 2021 compared to 2009. READ MORE AT MARKETWATCH

Over the last decade and a half, Latinos have created companies faster than all other demographic groups in the U.S. These companies are younger and consequently smaller than the average business. However, when compared to white-owned businesses, they grow revenues and create jobs at faster rates for all Americans, not just Latinos. If U.S. Latinos were a country, it would be the fifth largest GDP in the world, growing faster than the U.S. economy. READ MORE AT STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Hollywood companies are facing a series of challenges, including technology disruption, increasing competition, online piracy, economic slowdown, and, importantly, the pressure to demonstrate a continuous growth trajectory. By ignoring the U.S. Latino consumer group, Hollywood may also risk alienating the major source of demographic growth in the country for years to come.

It's time to make Latinos visible again, behind the cameras, in leading roles, and as decision-makers at the C-suites. Hollywood is in the spotlight; industry leaders must recognize the untapped potential of the U.S. Latino consumer group and take decisive action to foster inclusivity, ensuring a thriving and culturally rich future for the entertainment industry. READ MORE AT FORBES

Some educators and advocates say the best way to break the cycle of poverty is by accessing well-paid STEM jobs, as well as the many scholarships that go unawarded each year due to a lack of applicants. In some places, the door seems tightly shut. In Silicon Valley, for example, where the largest number of STEM jobs in the country are concentrated, and where the Latino population is almost 50 percent, less than 3 percent of high-tech, high-wage jobs are filled by Latino professionals. READ MORE AT GOVTECH

The nation’s fast-growing Hispanic population made dramatic strides in educational attainment in recent decades — especially among younger age groups. The number of people of Hispanic or Latino origin (referred to as the Hispanic population in this article) more than quadrupled from 14.6 million 1980 to 62.1 million 2021, and their share of the U.S. population jumped from 6.2% to 18.7%.

As the Hispanic population grew so did its educational attainment, especially high school graduation rates. In 1996, 58.2% of the Hispanic population ages 25 to 29 graduated from high school; by 2021, the share increased to 88.5%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. READ MORE AT UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU

Data shows Afro Latinos have higher educational attainment rates but fewer markers of financial success when compared to other Latinos. Nearly 80% of Afro Latinos are U.S. born, compared to less than of 65% of other Latinos, and they skew younger too.

An analysis of the data in a report by UCLA's Latino Policy and Politics Institute is among the first to delve into the differences and disparities between Afro Latinos and Latinos who are not Black. Researchers say highlighting the differences is key to illuminating the strengths of Afro Latinos as well as to addressing the unique challenges they face. READ MORE AT AXIOS

Over the past decade, Minnesota has seen a 38% increase in residents who identify as Latino or Hispanic. Amid a tight labor market, a new report suggests they could play a big role in bolstering the region's workforce.

This spring, the state Department of Economic and Employment Development issued findings that lay out opportunities and challenges for this population when it comes to economic well-being. For example, Latinos have the highest regional labor force participation rate of any race or origin group - but there are disparities, such as household income. READ MORE AT PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

While Americans have embraced Mexican food and beverages, American businesses have a long way to go to understand Hispanic and Latino consumers and their $2+ trillion spending power. Latino consumers are very comfortable holding and expressing the two sides of their identity, or even more depending upon their parents and grandparents’ countries of origin. But that creates challenges for brands and retailers that want a one-size-fits-all way to classify and communicate with the Latino consumer segment. READ MORE AT FORBES

This month, Republicans who control the Arizona fractious Legislature came together with Democrats in a moment of unusual bipartisan accord. They passed a bill that would let Arizona’s home cooks register with the state to legally sell perishable foods like salsas and tamales.

But Katie Hobbs, the state’s new Democratic governor, vetoed the measure last week, citing concerns about the potential for food-borne illnesses, as well as rats and insects in home kitchens. Her veto set off a ferocious culinary and cultural backlash from the Capitol to kitchens across Arizona, offering a political lesson for the new governor: Do not mess with the tamale makers. READ MORE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES