Hispanic Fanatic

Recently, I wrote about how Hispanics are underrepresented in the STEM fields. Well, this underrepresentation creeps up in strange ways.

For example, Hispanics are big on video games. We are 32% more likely to consider video games our main source of entertainment, and we are 54% more likely to buy a video game the day it’s released.

Personally, I used to be king of the arcade back in the days when Galaga ruled the Earth.

But for the most part, the video game industry has ignored their large Latino fan base. Just 3 percent of video game characters are Latino, and many of those are — to no one’s surprise — cliché or offensive stereotypes.

So what can be done about this? Well, big guns like Google have plugged in and are trying to get Hispanic kids excited about technology. And lots of organizations have sprung up to teach coding and programming to Latino children. And the Latino STEM Alliance partners with schools, industry groups and community leaders to bring enrichment programs to Latino kids.

While the goal is to create better job opportunities for Hispanics, an even more crucial objective is to accelerate the nation’s pace of scientific and technological innovation. You see, without the input of Latinos, that’s just not gonna happen.

As for me, I plan to encourage my toddler son to love science and technology. It’s not only smart for society and good for my boy, it’s my master plan for retirement. I figure in twenty years, my son will come up with the next Facebook, and the family will be set.

Hey, why not?

Not to boast, but Latinos are the most tech-savvy demographic. We are more likely to be early adopters, own a smartphone, watch videos online, and engage in social media than other groups.

Basically, if there is an electronic gadget that flashes, whirrs, buzzes, whistles, or just lights up, we are there.

But as a recent report showed, we’re not so good at actually creating the gadgets in the first place. Diversity is a serious problem in Silicon Valley, and Latinos are underrepresented when it comes to developing new technology.

At the largest tech firms, Hispanic representation rarely cracks single digits, and it never comes close to being proportional to the Latino share of the population. Many tech industry leaders fear that innovation will suffer because so few ethnic minorities — including Latinos — are becoming programmers, engineers and entrepreneurs.

This means that in a nightmarish scenario to horrible to comprehend, developing Back to the Future-style hoverboards will never happen.

Why is this? It’s because we’re sucking at the stem. Or rather, we’re sucking at STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). You see, the number of STEM jobs significantly outpaces the number of people qualified for those jobs. Latinos account for about 17% of the U.S. population but only 7% of the nation’s STEM workers. Hispanics will make up more of the labor pool in the future, so you can see the problem. I mean, do the math…

Oh, wait. Maybe you can’t do the math, because you’re not into STEM. Damn, this is ironic… and awkward.

Well, you’ll just have to trust me.