Change is brewing in the Hispanic community’s traditional gender roles — research shows an increasing number of Hispanic women are pursuing postsecondary education.

This trend was investigated in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas by Brent Cejda, associate professor of educational administration and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Sheldon Stick, professor of educational administration at UNL and an associate professor from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“A lot of them talked about a better life, and not just financially,” Cejda said. “It goes back to the old adage: if you want to be a good citizen, you need to have a better education.”

The Hispanic population has some of the lowest representations in higher education, Stick said, and has a culture that assigns women to domestic roles rather than professional roles.

“On one hand there is concern about ensuring access to higher education for all persons who are so inclined,” Stick said. “They should be afforded the opportunity to participate fully.”