Why Diversity and Inclusivity Is Good for Latinos and Your Business
Three ideas that can help support this “intentional diversity,” as he calls it, throughout the business.
When speaking at a World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Cid Wilson, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), described an often overlooked consumer market. He recalls saying, “Imagine an entire country that has the eighth largest economy in the world at roughly 2.3 trillion dollars of gross domestic product that’s growing faster than every other single G20 country, has no sovereign debt risk, has a strong regulatory structure, has very little risk of experiencing a government coup d’état, is English-language dominant, and whose average age is 27, meaning there’s years of community growth yet to come. Would you invest in a global strategy for a country like that? Of course, everyone is likely going to say, ‘My God, that’s a no brainer.’ Well, I just described to you the U.S. Latino community.” Culture Over Profits That companies don’t more effectively—if at all—reach out to this population, which is estimated to drive nearly a quarter of the U.S. GDP, is a shame. Part of it may have to do with internal operating cultures, which many executives don’t want to change, citing current business success. This, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, however, is short-sighted, especially as changes to U.S. demographics become increasingly apparent, with Latinos now representing one in five people in the country, a statistic that’s only sure to grow. “Culture is one of the most difficult things to change at a company because it’s usually governed by the board of directors, and they decide who to hire as CEO, who may in turn further act as a guardian of the culture,” Wilson says. “Indeed, some companies will sacrifice business growth to maintain their culture, resisting change by saying, ‘No, this is how we’ve done business here for the last 50 years.’ I know that that sounds counterintuitive, but some companies will guard their culture more than they guard their profits.” By not changing their cultures, they’re missing out on not only increased revenues, but also the wealth of ideas, experiences and perspectives that can be gained by increasing workplace diversity as offered, for example, by the Hispanic communities. On the other hand, organizations that have been and are open to that cultural change have a great deal to gain, including a more competitive stance. Starting and Building a Career As things stand now, however, there are still many roadblocks to delivering a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable working environment that includes vital Hispanic participation, input and leadership. Per a new survey from the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), these include:- The opportunity challenge: Younger Hispanic leaders are not getting the same advancement opportunities as their more senior colleagues. While 41 percent of the Hispanic executives surveyed say they have benefited from formal mentoring and on-the-job training, only 26 percent of junior managers say they have access to these mentorship programs and only 31 percent say they have access to workplace training. Perhaps as a result, only one in five junior managers say they feel empowered to overcome professional challenges.
- The discrimination challenge: Eighty-seven percent of Hispanics say they’ve experienced prejudice because of their race. And 70 percent of junior leaders say they have to work harder to succeed because of their identity. That doesn’t change much over the course of a career, with 63 percent of all Hispanics saying they continue to work harder because of their identity, no matter how high they climb on the leadership ladder.
- The gender challenge: For Latinas, all of the hurdles faced by Hispanics—and by women in general—are amplified. Among other things, they are paid significantly less than other groups, and 82 percent of poll respondents say Latinas don’t get the respect they deserve.
