With the relentless focus on the voting behavior of black and white women in the Democratic primaries, far less attention has been paid to the voices and votes of Latinas (not to mention that women of any other race or ethnicity are for all intents and purposes invisible to the mainstream media). Perhaps this is because the media cannot ascribe reasoning to other demographic groups of women as easily and instead might have to consider that women are capable of understanding policy positions from candidates and voting on that basis.

Recently, a study commissioned by Spelman College found:

Hispanic female Democrats across the country say leadership abilities, not race or gender, is the primary motivator for their selection of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee.

The full Spelman LEADS survey,

the first survey conducted to explore the political interest and mindsets of minority females less than 10 percent of African-American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American female Democrats admit that race (2.7 percent) or gender (6 percent) are the primary motivators for selecting the next presidential candidate.

Rather they seek in candidates:

Integrity (19 percent), ability to make changes (nearly 15 percent) and experience (almost 13 percent) are the top three characteristics. Inclusiveness and intelligence complete the top five at 11 percent each.

Lisa Renee at Liberal Common Sense says that the findings ring true to her:

This story from PRNewswire pretty much confirms what I've heard from members of my family that are Hispanic, their main reason for supporting Hillary Clinton has more to do with the belief that they feel she is more experienced than Barack Obama. Geographical location seems to not be a factor with those living in El Paso, Texas - New London, CT and in Puerto Rico all sharing the same mindset.

Sherrel Wheeler Stewart at BlackAmericaWeb.com notes why women find it so important to evaluate the policy positions of the candidates:

Because so many women of color are responsible for themselves and their families, they will continue to show up in large numbers at the polls, observers said. Across the country, these women are faced daily with issues of healthcare, housing and the economy, [Jane E. Smith, Ed. D., executive director of LEADS at Spelman College] said.

"They are looking for leadership," she said.

Veronica at Viva La Feminista called on Senators to vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act:

What about us Latinas?

Minority women fare significantly worse. In 2006, the median earnings of African American women working full-time, year-round were $30,3525 compared to $48,4206 for white, non-Hispanic men; the median for Hispanic women was only $25,198.7 This means that an African American woman earned just 63 cents for every dollar earned by a white, non-Hispanic man, while a Hispanic woman earned only 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, non-Hispanic male counterpart.8 In both cases, this pay gap for women of color was only marginally smaller than it was in 2004. [link]

52 cents? Pinche 52 cents?

Mary notes on her blog, A Female New Mexican's Political Point of View, that:

Senator John McCain could not be bothered to take time from his demanding campaign schedule to vote for a bill that would help women receive fair treatment for wage discrimination. Both democratic candidates took valuable time off from their campaigns to support the bill which failed because of republican senators. Women need to understand that the Republican Party does not value them and will not support their issues in this country. We need to support candidates of both genders that support our issues of equal pay for equal work no matter what the job title says.

Martina Guzman at WNYC interviewed Latinas in Pennsylvania about their concerns prior to the recent primary:

REPORTER: several national studies show that Latinas out vote men, and it’s been consistent over two decades. Rooted in their interest in health care and education, Camarillo says Latinas are voting on behalf of their community and members of their family who can’t vote because they may be undocumented.

In reading coverage of Hispanic women and their political concerns it is important to note that Latinas are not a monolithic group and that issues of concern to women of Cuban, Mexican and Venezuelan descent can be quite different.

Now that we know that Latinas, like other women of color, like white women, like oh, heck, voters period, vote on the basis of issues and not solely on membership in any demographic category, is it too much to hope for that we might now move on to coverage of the candidates' stands on issues so we can make our voting decisions?

For excellent blog coverage of issues of importance to Latinas please visit Marisa Treviño at Latina Lista

BlogHer CE Maria Niles also writes about politics on occasion at her blog PopConsumer