“We focus on developing, supporting, and increasing the number of
Latino and Latinas on boards,” shares Aguilera. We are a group of very
important business leaders who are committed to paying it forward and
helping others serve on boards as well. We need to do this together as a
community, and also have our Latinos help the path and position of Latinas
on boards.”
For aspiring directors, Aguilera invites Latina executives to join the
organization to not only broaden their network but to participate in their
institute, which helps Latinas with their board journey.
“The practical tools and learning experience and the network is the
preparation they need to make it happen,” Aguilera shares. “Our number of
Latinas on boards is awful and we are being left out. What we have set up
to do is launch the Latino Voices for Boardroom Equity. We have to as a
community apply our own pressure and speak out to the community that
this is unacceptable, and we have to create a movement.”
In mid-September, the LCDA launched Latino Voices for Boardroom
Equity, in partnership with several national Latino organizations to assert
diversity without the inclusion of Latinos, is not acceptable.
The Latino Voices objectives are:
1. Triple Latino representation on public company boards by 2023.
2. Act to target corporations with no Latino representation.
3. Track progress through the publication of a quarterly scorecard.
“In the short term, increasing Latina participation on corporate boards
requires intentionality on the part of corporate boards to identify talented
Latinas and bring them into their boardrooms,” shares Vaca. “In the longer term,
it’s critical for Latinas and all minority groups to place more emphasis on higher
education and advanced degrees, and for corporations to place more
emphasis on diversifying their entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level ranks in
order to expand the pool of qualified
board candidates. Organizations working
on board readiness initiatives can also
play a key role by ensuring they are
enrolling more diverse candidates in their
programs.
Tuckers’ advice on how to prepare
for board seats is to help Latinas who
have the requisite skills and experiences
gain exposure to CEOs, board chairs, and
search firms. In addition, she believes it is
important to broaden the pipeline of
Latinas by ensuring young talent
understand and seek the foundational
career building blocks required. Curiosity,
Esther Aguilera, CEO of the
Latino Corporate Directors
Association (LCDA).
an ability to constructively ask difficult questions and/or challenge the company’s
thinking; balanced judgment; strong financial acumen and analytical
capacity, and the ability to build consensus are some qualities she believes can
assist any Latina to be a successful board member.
“I can’t over-estimate the importance of having our young talent gain an
appreciation on how to manage their careers so they build portfolios that will be
sought after by boards,” she shares. “Some examples are running large profit
and loss of business units or major cost centers or spending time in corporate
headquarters locations. Opportunities that make them competitive for the
C-suite will also make them attractive to corporate boards.” LS
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18 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 26, No. 5, 2020
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