Enterprising Latinas creates pathways of opportunity for Latinas in Tampa Bay by teaching new skills, creating networks of mutual support, and advocating for innovative solutions to promote economic mobility and equity. We believe in Latinas being both contributors as well as beneficiaries of a thriving economy.
Founded in 2009 and in operations since 2014, Enterprising Latinas (ELI) is a women of color-led organization that recognizes the social inequities driving the gap in wages and wealth for women. We are dedicated to addressing these inequities at the individual, community and systems level.
We believe that when women do well, their families and our communities do better! But to do well, women don’t need charity or transactional assistance; they need opportunity, investments and resources to increase their wages and wealth. Unfortunately, many low-income women are stuck in low wage jobs, inadequate preparation for college, and the toxic stress of poverty, while others with unrealized business potential lack adequate support and capital. Current policies do not target wealth building for them. ELI’s experience shows the need to center these women’s experiences and deeply affirm their knowledge, worth and potential so they can make choices that set them on a path towards wealth-building and to become agents of change.