The term Latino/a, derived from the Spanish latinoamericano, has been traced by some scholars to the Colombian writer José María Torres Caicedo, who used it in the mid-nineteenth centurySampaio, A. (2003). Transforming Chicana/o and Latina/o Politics: Globalization and the Formation os Transnational Resistance in the United States and Chiapas. In C. G. Vélez-Ibañez & A. Sampaio (Eds.), Transnational latina/o communities: Politics, processes, and cultures (pp. 47–71). Rowman & Littlefield.. In the United States, the term later developed a distinct meaning as a way to refer to people of Latin American origin or descent. During the twentieth century, terms such as "Latin", "Spanish", "Hispanic" and "Latino" were used in different contexts to classify populations of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Central American, and South American origin.

In contemporary usage, Latino/a generally refers to people in the United States whose cultural, national or ancestral origins an in Latin America, including Mexico, Central America, South America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Unlike "Hispanic", which has often been associated with official government classification, "Latino/a" has also been used as a form of cultural and political self-identification. However, both terms can marginalize and exclude differences in national origin, race, class, migratory history and geographic among Latin American-origin populations.

History of Latina migration

Latina migration to the U.S. is incorporated into the web of social relations that structure migration patterns according to gender differencesHondagneu-Sotelo, P. (Ed.). (1994). Gendered transitions: Mexican experiences of immigration. University of California Press. The expansion of global capitalism has led to the growing incorporation of women into the labor market and, in parallel to the feminization of labor and international migration simultaneously.Benería, L. (2010). Globalization, Women’s Work, and Care Needs: The Urgency of Reconciliation Policies. This process responds to profound transformations, such as the decline of the "male breadwinner" model to the generalization of households with multiple earners, the rise of the service sector, and the consolidation of feminized jobs in countries of the Global North, characterized by precariousness.

Feminist political economy scholars have linked neoliberal policies to the weakening of social protection systems and privatization of social reproduction. This process has been described as a catalyst of the "care crisis", in which domestic and care responsibilities are increasingly transferred to migrant women from the Global South.Benería, L. (2008). The crisis of care, international migration, and public policy. Feminist Economics, 14(3), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700802081984 In countries of the Global North, the demand of reproductive labor has encouraged the migration of Latin American women to economies such as the United States.Salazar-Parreño, R. (2001). Servants of Globalization. Standford University Press. This has contributed to the formation of global care chain and transnational gender inequalities.Pérez-Orozco, A., Paiewonsky, D., & García-Domínguez, M. (2008). Cruzando fronteras II: Migración y desarrollo desde una perspectiva de género. UN-INSTRAW. Within this context, globalization has expanded opportunities for mobility while also reconfiguring social hierarchies and gender norms. Migrant women's participation in paid labor usually coexists with their concentration in unstable jobs in services and care sectors.Pessar, P. R., & Mahler, S. J. (2003). Transnational Migration: Bringing Gender In. International Migration Review, 37(3), 812–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2003.tb00159.x

1970–present

The 1970s marked the first decade in which a gender shift occurred in Mexican migration.Cornelius, W.A. and A. Marcelli Enrico, 2000, "The changing profile of Mexican migrants to the United States: new evidence from California and Mexico." IZA Discussion paper No. 220. http://www.iza.org/ During this time, more single women and more families began to migrate along with the working males who had already been migrating for several decades. This difference in gender migration is largely attributed to the difference in Latino and Latina work opportunities in the United States. Prior to the 1970s, the majority of the Latino migratory work was agriculturally based. However, with the end of the Bracero program, the United States policy on migration within the hemisphere shifted from encouraging primarily working males to migrate. Beginning with the Watershed amendment of 1965, the United States shifted their policy to encourage the migration of whole families by issuing less visas to unskilled single men and more visas to families. This marked the beginning of a large increase in Latina migration. While men typically migrate at a young age concentration of 18–25, females migrate at generally consistent rates at all age groups. This signals a difference in motives for female migration. While Latinos almost always migrate to the United States in search of work, Latina migration follows a pattern heavily tied to family life.

Likewise, the early waves of the Cuban migration were primarily families. After they Bay of Pigs failure, many middle class Cuban families sought escape from the newly communist Cuba in the United States. 1961 and 1962 were marked by full family Cuban immigration. Thus, many Cuban women found themselves in the United States as a result of their family. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the ability for Cubans to immigrate with their families became limited as a result of strained US-Cuba relations. This led to Cubans use of flotillas in order to make it to the southern coast of Florida.

Latina migration from a gender perspective Women's participation withing migratory flows is connected to the roles they play in the global economy and the social organization of care . This phenomenon is often described as "feminization of migration"; nevertheless, women have historically been part of migratory movements.Cortés-Maisonave, A., and  Manjarrez-Rosas, J. (2021). Visibilidades, inclusiones y representaciones: el sujeto migrante mujer desde una perspectiva feminista. In Género y movilidades: lecturas feministas de la migración, editado por A. Cortés Maisonave and J. Manjarrez Rosas, 20-54. Bruselas: Peter Lang.Magliano, M. J., & Arrieta, S. (2021). La política en territorio. Género, migraciones y sostenibilidad de la vida en Argentina. 15(71), 143–160. https://doi.org/10.17141/iconos.71.2021.4712Herrera, G. (2012). Género y migración internacional en la experiencia latinoamericana. De la visibilización del campo a una presencia selectiva. Política y Sociedad, 49(1), 35–46. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_POSO.2012.v49.n1.36518 In 1960, women represented 46.8% of international migrants. Although women have been present in migration flows throughout history, what distinguishes this phenomenon since late twentieth century is the qualitive change in the position they assume, beyond the increase in statistical terms. In particular, there has been a transformation in the position women as primary providers in their households of origin and in the global economy.Torres-Santana, A. (2023). BORDES, MOVILIDADES Y CUIDADANÍAS Notas sobre trabajo de cuidados y migraciones en América Latina. In A. Torres-Santana (Ed.), Y aquí estamos, migraciones, trabajo y economías (pp. 176–206). Fundación Rosa Luxemburg. Therefore, their growing participation in migratory processes is deeply linked to the care crisis in the Global North and the advance of neoliberal globalization, which has transformed productive structures and the international division of labor. These changes have impacted and increased the demand of migrants' women workforce in destination countries; especially in services and care sectors.Fraser, N. (2015). Las contradicciones del capital y los cuidados. New Left Review, 111–132. Reasons for Latina migration While the primary reason for immigration into the United States for Latinas is economic improvement, the betterment of family life remains an important factor. Latina women also migrate with their families in an effort to seek refuge from violence and political instability in their native countries. Violent events in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras the number of Latinas entering the United States with families has nearly doubled in 2015. Likewise, many Latina women identified their primary reason for immigration was to reunite with family already in the United States.

Health The Hispanic paradox refers to the medical research indicating that Latino immigrants enter the United States with better health, on average, than the average American citizen, but lose this health benefit the longer they reside in the United States. This health paradox affects both male and female populations of Latinos. Likewise, immigrant Latina women are found to have a lower infant mortality rate than U.S. born women. This has been explained by the tendency for Hispanic women to continue breastfeeding for a longer amount of time.Page, R. L. "Differences in Health Behaviors of Hispanic, White, and Black Childbearing Women: Focus on the Hispanic Paradox." Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences: 300-12. Print.

The Affordable Care Act does not cover non-citizens nor does it cover immigrants with less than 5 years of residency. As a result, Latino immigrants struggle to gain health care once they enter the United States. Non-citizen Latinos often avoid hospitals and clinics for fear of deportation, leading to an increased risk of preventable diseases such as tuberculosis and Hepatitis in this population.Liete, Paula, Adela Angoa, Xochitl Castaneda, and Emily Felt. "Health Outcomes of Mexican Immigrant Women in the United States." Migrationpolicy.org. 2 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2015. Additionally, Latino health deteriorates as this population assimilates into unhealthy lifestyles associated with lower socioeconomic American populations.

Latina women in the workforce Immigration to the United States offers new economic prospects for Latina women. While many Latina women work outside the home in their countries of origin, their efforts in the U.S. often yield more economic benefits. The Institute of Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame comments on this idea with Mexican women in mind, claiming that "much of the work that women do in the United States generates more income than it would in Mexico, allowing women to be much more financially independent." This financial independence allows these women more freedom to act as the head of household.

Though economic conditions in the U.S. are often better for these immigrants than in the countries from which they came, they are nowhere near those that men and even women of other ethnicities enjoy. Latina women make disproportionately less money than their male and non-Hispanic white counterparts. These disparities in wage and job availability leave this portion of the United States population more vulnerable to poverty and its implications. Though it is common knowledge that women in the United States make less than their male counterparts, this wage gap further varies by ethnicity. On average, Latina women make 55 cents to the dollar when compared to white, non-Hispanic males while white women make 78.1 cents to the same dollar. This discrepancy between white and Latina women continues further. The number of working poor Latina women is more than double that of white women, and poverty rates for Latinas are nearly triple those of white women. The elimination of this wage gap, on average, equates to: 194 more weeks of food for a Latina's family, more than 17 more months of mortgage and utility payments, nearly 27 more months of rent, or 12,342 additional gallons of gas.