According to a new study coming out of Boston, the Latino community is underrepresented when it comes to holding U.S. government positions. This study also seems to point out a trend for the lack of Latinos in the New York City Mayor's office and reveals the Latino community's views.

While the communities of Boston and New York City operate and approach the same issues differently, some members of the Latino community feel that the data should not be ignored. Activists for the Latino community want to know why there is a lack of Latino voices in one of the upper levels of government.

The Latino community is flourishing in Boston, but the amount of Latinos in city government leadership roles are not visible enough. The report, titled "The Silent Crisis: Including Latinos and Why It Matters," indicates that almost 18 percent of Boston's population is Latino. But almost 8 percent of cabinet, senior staff or chief positions are held by Latinos, and only 7.1 percent of Latinos hold board and commission seats, The Bay State Banner reported.

The study was commissioned by the Greater Boston Latino Network and conducted by Miren Uriarte of UMass Boston, James Jennings of Tufts University and Jen Douglas, an independent researcher.

"Latinos are very strong in this city in numbers, but you would not know that looking at the numbers in government positions," Uriarte said.

The report suggests that in order for the Latino community to have an equal footing in government, their roles would have to be doubled in both executive and commission seats, The Bay State Banner reported.

Certain areas in Boston are affected also by the lack of Latinos in city departments. Places such as Chelsea and Somerville showed large gaps between the Latino populace and the positions in government leadership. Chelsea had the most dramatic gap: Latinos make up 62.1 percent of the population but hold only 14.3 percent of executive positions, and 10.9 percent in board and commission seats, The Bay State Banner reported.

In Somerville, the Latino population is 10.6 percent, but the city government has 1.8 percent in board and commissions positions, and zero in executive positions.

The Latino community is fighting a similar battle in New York City. An activist group called The Campaign for Fair Latino Representation held a protest at City Hall in the middle of last month, citing that Mayor Bill de Blasio did not have a good record of diversity. The group demanded that De Blasio's administration hire and appoint more Hispanics in his office, AM New York reported.

Another Latino rights activist, Angelo Falcon of The National Institute for Latino Policy in New York City, claimed that the mayor refused to meet with them to discuss these issues. Falcon was adamant that the voice of the Latino community be heard, AM New York noted.

"Eighty-seven percent of Latino voters cast ballots for de Blasio but if his hiring record does not improve, the chance of him being a 'one term mayor' are high," Falcon said.

The New York City Mayor's office issued a statement indicating that 14 percent of its agency heads are Latino. When compared to the previous administration it was 9.3 percent. And Mayor De Blasio's office added that they have 12.1 percent of Latino appointees, AM New York reported.

Falcon is still not satisfied. "Those numbers are terrible!" Falcon said, adding that New York City is so diverse, with almost one-third of the population Hispanic.

"If we compare Latinos with any other community in this administration, it's obvious there is a real blind spot: It's so out of whack," Falcon added.

The report coming out of of Boston offers some suggestions to help the lack of Latino representation in that region's government. The report emphasizes the "importance of inclusion for an effective, efficient and legitimate government."

This should be carried out by local governments that would create specific goals and tasks that would help in the recruiting process of attracting Latino leaders, with goals like getting citizen groups organized and vocal, and forming alliances with other underrepresented groups, The Bay State Banner reported.

Collaborating with city government so that they can develop oversight and new ways for achieving Latino inclusion is also important.

One writer from MIC.com notes that the Latino community is part of the fabric of the U.S. This influence is large enough that Americans could simply educate themselves about this growing demographic.

As of right now, less than 5 percent of the Latino community are in upper-level roles in Fortune 500 companies. One of the places for the Latino community to grow in the U.S. is in executive and government leadership roles, MIC.com reported.

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