Latina C-Suite Representation
By Dr. Robert Rodriguez, President – DRR Advisors LLC
Recently myself and four Latina
leaders were invited to a
roundtable discussion on Latinas
in corporate America. We agreed that
progress was painfully slow with regards
to
Latina representation in C-suite positions.
Corporations have executives who know
how to solve problems. Give them a quality issue,
and they fix it. Give them a safety problem, they
make it go away. Give them a product issue, and
they will resolve it. So why is it that when it
comes to having Latinas in their most senior
ranks, these smart and competent executives
consistently come up short?
Well, we aren’t ready to throw in the towel.
While progress has been frustratingly slow, we
weren’t ready to give up. So, for those executives
who want more Latinas to assume C-suite roles
at their organizations, we offer up these three
can’t miss suggestions.
Leader Accountability: Your executives seed
the next generation of leaders. If you don’t have
Latinas in their pipeline, blame them. They aren’t
aggressively identifying top Latina talent. But if
they aren’t held accountable, you won’t see any
change in their actions. If they don’t develop
more Latina leaders, hold their feet to the fire,
slow their ascent, and hold them accountable.
Otherwise nothing will change.
Sponsorship Programs: Executives must
use their influence to advocate on behalf of
up-and-coming Latina leaders. Ironically, top
executives often say they are uncomfortable with
the sponsorship concept. Yet, my colleagues and
I have seen these executives routinely sponsor
others, but those they sponsor are mostly white
males. What they are uncomfortable with is
sponsoring women and minorities. It’s time for
more public endorsement and sponsorship of
Latinas.
Talent Acquisition: There are several reasons
why most of the recruiting departments at
organizations that lack Latinas at the top are
woefully ill equipped to bring in top Latina talent.
First, there is often a lack of ethnic/racial
diversity within their recruiting department.
Second, they are way too quick to say, “There are
not enough Latina candidates that meet our
requirements.” They also often don’t know
what recruiting messages resonate the most with
Latinas nor do they have any relationships
with Latina leaders in the community. Those
recruiting departments who say, “we’re doing the
best we can” often don’t have a clue of what the
best Latina recruiting initiatives look like.
I encourage executives to use all their
motivation, passion, influence and fortitude to
push Latina initiatives forward. I, and other
diversity thought leaders, still feel that not enough
corporate executives have fully embraced such
efforts. For if they had, corporate America would
be much farther on the path to having Latina
C-suite representation that mirrors the economic
contributions that Latinas make. Some corporate
executives have done some great things in
promoting diversity and inclusion. But I would
argue that most corporate executives haven’t
done enough. We hope the reason is not because
Latinas are not wanted in the C-suite, but rather
because they simply haven’t figured out how to
make it happen. LS
Want to comment or have any
questions on this article? Email us at
info@latinastyle.com
C
His View
Dr. Robert Rodriguez is President of DRR Advisors, a consulting firm
specializing in ERG leader development, Latino talent initiatives and diversity
strategy. He has worked with over 200 corporations since launching DRR
Advisors in 2010. He is the creator of the 4C ERG Model and the 4C ERG
Assessment.
46 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 25, No. 2, 2019
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