10. Employer Preferences: Do Bilingual Applicants and Employees Experience an Advantage?

Raciolinguistic ideology and Spanish-English bilingualism on the US labor market: An analysis of online job advertisements

“…At this stage, I also incorporated seven more pairs of observations derived from advertisements that listed an explicit pay differential for Spanish-English bilinguals, which I had set aside during my manual coding of Spanish-English bilingualism requirements. These were mostly call center positions (see Alarcón & Heyman 2013) or positions in social services in California (see Porras et al 2014:246–47); in both cases, policies offering wage premiums to bilingual employees have been reported in the literature. I added two observations per advertisement in these cases—one treatment with the bilingual wage premium added and one control with the base salary listed.…”

“…First, greater effort may be called for from public institutions to credentialize Latinxs’ bilingualism so that it can be more effectively leveraged as a formal qualification in the same way that, for example, a Bachelor's degree might be leveraged. The Seal of Biliteracy is an example of such an effort (see Porras et al 2014 or New American Economy 2017 for a discussion). Further investigation of this policy as well as other efforts should explore whether they provide meaningful ways for Latinxs or other groups to fully leverage the economic potential of their linguistic repertoires.…”

“…As I have already mentioned, US employers’ demand for Spanish-English bilingualism is substantial (New American Economy 2017). The need for workers who can provide services to clients or who can communicate with coworkers in both languages is especially clear in areas that have large Spanish-speaking populations such as in parts of New Mexico (Villa & Villa 2005), California (Porras, Ee, & Gándara 2014), and Texas (Alarcón & Heyman 2013, 2014). For example, Villa & Villa surveyed 146 employers in southern New Mexico and found that the majority (52.06%) preferred that employees be bilingual and a smaller number (9.66%) required Spanish-English bilingualism.…”

The Demand for Multilingual Human Capital in the U.S. Labor Market

“…However, while researchers and policy makers will certainly continue to discuss the definition and scope of global competencies, less is known about the demand for globally competent professionals—that is, the educational qualifications and skills that are most sought by employers, the tasks that globally competent individuals are expected to perform, and the contexts in which such skills are required. Important studies on “bilinguals” (see Callahan & Gándara, ), which have used the term bilingual to refer to heritage speakers with a fluent language ability in both a native or heritage language and English, have offered new insights into what is often referred to as the “bilingual advantage.” In fact, the Forbes Insights, a survey of more than 100 executives from large U.S. firms, as well as Porras, Ee, and Gándara's () data gathered from 289 in‐person and over‐the‐phone interviews, both provided a strong indication of corporate interest in bilingual applicants and employees, although Porras et al was limited to a sample of California‐based businesses.…”

“…Important studies on "bilinguals" (see Callahan & G andara, 2014), which have used the term bilingual to refer to heritage speakers with a fluent language ability in both a native or heritage language and English, have offered new insights into what is often referred to as the "bilingual advantage." In fact, the 2011 Forbes Insights, a survey of more than 100 executives from large U.S. firms, as well as Porras, Ee, and G andara's (2014) data gathered from 289 in-person and over-the-phone interviews, both provided a strong indication of corporate interest in bilingual applicants and employees, although Porras et al was limited to a sample of California-based businesses.…”