The Impact of Acculturation and Assertiveness on Negotiation Self-Efficacy Among Professional Latinas

Background and Purpose:

Latinas continue to make enormous strides by continuing to answer the call to graduate high school, earn a higher education and enter the workforce at an increasing. However, Latinas are highly represented in low-wage occupations and lack significant representation in professional positions. As a result, Latinas are the least paid, earning 55 cents to the dollar made by a white man. The majority of research in the areas of assertiveness and negotiation do not include Latinas. The current body of knowledge in these areas have mainly examined white women. Further, when Latinas are represented in the scholarly literature, the focus in on deficits and barriers. Therefore, it is vital to their livelihood to examine and address the root causes that continue to act as barriers to negotiation self-efficacy for Latinas.

This cross-sectional, exploratory quantitative study explored how acculturation and assertiveness impacted the negotiation self-efficacy among professional Latinas (N=201) to answer the overarching research question, does acculturation and assertiveness predict negotiation self-efficacy among professional Latinas?

A survey incorporating demographic questions, the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics, the Rathus Assertiveness Scale, and the Negotiation Self-Efficacy Scale was distributed via professional organization’s email lists and social media outlets servicing professional Latinas. This study was guided by an intersectionality and mujerista lens. A mujerista perspective uncovers the various intersections of domination and inequality at work (Dyrness, 2008).

Methods:

The study was conducted by utilizing non-probability convenience sampling to distribute the survey to professional Latinas via Qualtrics. The sample size was determined by using Cohen and Cohen’s (1983) formula for effect size and power analysis. The sample size (N=201) exceeded the minimum sample size. The level of significance was set at .05. Data was analyzed in SPSS. Statistical analysis consisted of correlations, analysis of variance and regressions.

Results:

The study resulted in 3 significant findings: 1) there is a positive relationship between assertiveness and negotiation self-efficacy, 2) assertiveness predicts negotiation self-efficacy, 3) age and salary predict negotiation self-efficacy.

Conclusions and Implications:

Practice implications include, practitioners creating a safe and brave spaces for Latinas to learn and practice how to assert themselves and negotiate, understand implicit and explicit biases and perceptions towards assertive Latinas, and creation of training opportunities on assertiveness provided by a mujerista for Latinas.

An implication for policy is related to funding opportunities to create the much-needed assertiveness trainings.

Future research implications include, studying the effectiveness of assertiveness training programs for Latinas, duplication of the current study with a diversified population of Latinas and further analysis of variables not included in the current study, such as marital status, first generation college student status, educational level, leadership position and generational status.

Latinas have highlighted the beauty of collectivism and it is time for their representation in the scholarly literature to move others to action so Latinas can earn the full $1.00.