Panelists discussed the findings of a recently released poll by Sergio Bendixen entitled "Women Immigrant: Stewards of the 21st Century Family." The participants included immigrant women leaders from the African, Arab, Latino, Chinese and Korean communities who spoke about the key role that immigrant women play within their families and communities, and on immigrant integration as a whole. As women immigrate and adjust to the US, they take on new roles as decision makers and becoming increasingly active in civic and public life.

The panel confirmed the critical need for mechanisms that allow effective immigrant integration. The most recent generations of immigrant women are learning to redefine their family and public roles, but many are faced with increasingly difficult decisions between child care and English classes, job training and full-time employment, and for some, risking deportation or allowing the family to go hungry. Priorities should include English classes coupled with specific job training like, entrepreneurial and leadership training, and a just and human immigration reform that keeps families together.

It was an inspiring discussion that focused on the important role of immigrant women when it comes to providing a better future and stability for their children in order to maintain family unity, and building up a new generation of immigrants to become full participants of life in the United States.

Some of the key facts from the poll that were discussed included:

• A majority of immigrants in the United States are Women.
• Sixty-four percent of the 1,102 women surveyed (two-thirds of them here legally) spoke little or no English. Most of the poor speakers had attended English classes.
• In their first year in the U.S., the women made, on average, $500 a month.
• Most women from Korea, India, Africa and China earned more than $2,000 a month. But those women were typically professionals in their native country and haven't found comparable work.
• Latina immigrants who've been here for a while earned about $1,000 a month.
• Two-thirds of the women were married; of those, more than 90 percent lived with their husbands. Keeping the family intact was a high priority

You can also read about the event on the Chicago Tribune and Hoy.