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American Express is coming out doing some great things with Latina leaders in conjunction with the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI) in an an effort to address the underrepresentation of Latina professionals in the nonprofit sector. A new program will:

…prepare, promote and sustain the next generation of nonprofit leaders by helping young Latina professionals develop their leadership and management skills, find their voice as effective community leaders, and build their external networks; and by providing access to role models and mentors.

Good going AMEX – now I’ll love my AMEX card just a bit more.

I was recently on the Northern Kentucky University campus to spend time with the Office of Latino Student Affairs. As a reminder, they’re hosting the first annual Educating Latinos for Kentucky’s Future (ELKF) Conference this Thursday and Friday at the NKU campus. I’ll be there sharing some tweets and blog posts during the event.

I also had the good fortune of meeting a bright and very energetic student by the name of Gabriela, and she just happens to work for the Latino student office. Like many Hispanic students in college, Gabriela is a dedicated student, actively involved on campus, and works a couple of jobs; however, this doesn’t diminish her energy or vision for the future. She was kind enough to spend some time with me to discuss her perspectives as a Latina college student in this installment of the HTM Podcast. Gabriela’s insights are very telling. She illustrates why the Hispanic college student experience is so unique and why Hispanics can bring so many experiences and skills to any organization. I hope to invite other Hispanic students as talented as Gabriela to future HTM Podcasts.  Enjoy!

 

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Hispanics have a long history of U.S. military service. The number of Hispanics having earned the Congressional Medal of Honor has been a source of pride and distinction for the Hispanic community. In fact, the first Hispanic CMOH recipient was given to a corporal during the Civil War in the Battle of Gettysburg. According to recent military data, Hispanics have seen a dramatic increase in the number of enlisted personnel serving in all branches of the U.S. military. But despite their increasing numbers, Hispanics remain under-represented at the officer level. That’s why it was great to see this post via The Americano describing the partnership between the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Employers and the United States Armed Forces. The goal is create more opportunities for Hispanics in the military at all levels of the military through scholarships and other educational approaches.

Welcome to the first HTM Podcast!

This opening installment of the HTM Podcast focuses on Latina Leadership, an important topic when you consider Latina leaders are starting to make great strides in the business world. The HTM Podcast has been in the works for some time, so I’m excited to get it started with a wonderful guest, Aurelia Flores, Founder of  PowerfulLatinas.com.  Aurelia founded PowerfulLatinas.com in 2007 as a company that gathers together Latina women to learn from and share with one another. After becoming pregnant at age 15, she graduated from high school a year early and went immediately to college where she received her B.A. in Sociology. She received her law degree from Stanford Law School and then was awarded a post-graduate Fulbright Fellowship to study in Mexico City. Aurelia has been practicing corporate law for over ten years and specializes in intellectual property.  Aurelia also volunteers for various non-profit organizations. Aurelia, her story and PowerfulLatinas.com have been featured on TV, radio, and in print publications, including the recently published book, “Aim High:  Extraordinary Stories of Hispanic and Latina Women.” She is a proud mother and her son now attends Georgetown University. Enjoy!

 

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I’ve tweeted about a lot this week but wanted to share some thoughts below (with associated links) since I think they highlight continued trends regarding the importance of the growing Hispanic workforce. Enjoy!

Hispanics in the South: The University of Alabama is hosting a one day conference on the growing presence of Hispanics in the South. This is growing trend with states such as GA, TN, and NC already experiencing significant growth over the last decade. I lived in Little Rock, AR. for two years and saw tremendous growth of the Hispanic population during my time there. Little Rock actually hosted the LULAC National Convention there a few years ago. It was a great convention!

Education Where It’s Needed: Teach for America is offering potential Hispanic teachers the opportunity to give back to their community by placing them in areas where they’re needed the most – they’re own communities. Teach for America salaries are just a bit higher if a candidate teaches in an urban or high need area. The organization recruits college graduates from all backgrounds, trains them, and places them where there is a high need. A great opportunity to give back, make a difference, and begin a career in education.

Intel Making a Difference: Intel is investing in providing K-8 teachers professional development on math content by taking an innovative approach.  This Intel Math program is an intensive 80 hour course facilitated by a practicing mathematician and a math educator.  The curriculum is available for free to any state in the US.  Another organization making a difference is my alma mater – The University of Texas at El Paso. I worked at the career center there and it’s where I earned my BA and MA degrees. With more than 70% of its student body of Hispanic descent- it’s making a huge difference in graduating students into STEM careers .

Hispanic Trends for 2010: Jose Villa provides some excellent thoughts regarding Hispanic marketing trends for 2010. I’ve insisted that many of these same ideas can be applied to recruiting Hispanic professionals into the workplace. I particularly like his thoughts regarding generational differences and acculturation.

Demographic Trends: The NewYork Times shared an article on how seven states in the U.S. have seen a decrease in their 18 and under population. The list of states is provided in the article. Despite some of these contractions, the Hispanic population in these states is still growing.

Future Leadership:  I’ve long advocated that organizations need to tap and exploit growing pools of talent for future leadership - especially as more Hispanics graduate from college. To this thought, Kevin Wheeler shares some ideas regarding the future of leadership. With baby-boomers and non-Hispanic whites decreasing in population, there will be a definite leadership gap in the coming decade.

Over the last couple years, it seems college students are in the midst of a perfect storm. Whereas incoming college students are facing increased college costs, current college students are loaded with debt, and college graduate salaries are either meek or decreasing, the short-term outlook for those attending college is dubious. From a Hispanic college student perspective, it adds yet another wrinkle to other challenges such as delayed college entry, attending less selective schools, caring for children or other dependents, and working while attending college. 

However as challenging as these obstacles seem there is a ray of hope: overcoming these barriers turn challenges into opportunities. For example, prospective employers seek those college graduates who face significant challenges, take steps to overcome them, work to put themselves through school, and engage themselves in a positive direction of growth. You get the idea. I’ve known many Hispanic college graduates that share these qualities. The motivation and passion to succeed despite the challenges.

This evening I had the opportunity to attend a Cincinnati Hispanic Chamber Networking event and had the great honor of meeting Anthony Munoz. As the third player selected in the 1980 NFL draft, Anothony Munoz was an 11-time consecutive All-Pro lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals. Anthony Munoz is also one of two Hispanic Americans in the Football Hall of Fame. While his leadership on the field and career achievements receive a lot of attention, Anthony Munoz is also a leader off the field. He serves as the president of the Anthony Munoz Foundation. His foundation aims to educate, promote, recognize and reward youth in the Cincinnati area that excel in all phases of life. No matter what adversity youth may face, the foundation’s programs teach young people that they can overcome many of their respective obstacles. I had the chance to speak with him at length during the event. In all honesty, his formidable physical presence was only overshadowed by his modesty and passion for his foundation and support of the community. He is truly a leader on and off the field.

Yesterday I received an email from a former colleague regarding a career-related issue. By the end of the day, I had traded close to 10 emails discussing his options as well as providing some long-term career advice. During our “virtual” conversation, I encouraged him to seek out a mentor within the organization. I also asked if there was anyone within his organization that would be suitable. Unfortunately, he said there are relatively few Hispanics in leadership positions and even fewer Hispanics in executive positions. Thus, his sources of mentors were limited to external contacts. The situation is representative of the lack of mentors for Hispanic professionals.

There is no question that being mentored is a crucial step in career success. My former collegue recognizes the importance of these relationships, however, is frustrated by the lack of potential mentors within his company. This is a general problem in most organizations, however, it is more prevalent for women and minorities. If career and leadership development of women and minorities is a goal of any organization, then all its members should have access to career enhancing processes, including mentoring. An infinite number of studies show that mentors provide career enhancing information, advice, protection, sponsorship, feedback, and role modeling. Additionally, mentors provide psychological support such as being sounding boards or facilitating socialization opportunities.   Read more…

Jose Hernandez was the youngest of four children born to a migrant farming family from Mexico that picked crops in California. The family’s annual “California circuit” began in February, when they arrived in California’s Central Valley and headed for the strawberry fields near the city of Ontario. During each stop he and his siblings attended school. The children didn’t work Monday through Friday, but always on the weekends. Late in the school year, when all the kids were looking forward to summer vacation, he dreaded it.

In November, after the walnuts and grapes were in, his parents, Salvador and Julia Hernandez, would pack their four children in the car and headed south through California’s Central Valley to the Mexican state of Michoacan, 1,700 miles away. The journey back home took 2 1/2 days. During the trip his father would put cans of Campbell’s soup on the engine manifold to warm up so the children could eat soup in the back seat.

Eventually, Jose Hernandez graduated from high school, attended Stockton’s University of the Pacific on a scholarship, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, and then earned a master’s at the University of California at Santa Barbara. This story in itself would be  extraordinary – but it does not end here.

Jose Hernandez is now 41 and this coming week, he’s is taking a different kind of trip. He’s headed into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery. Jose is an expert engineer specializing in X-rays, tomography, ultrasound, and other nondestructive means of medical and materials analysis. Before joining NASA, Jose worked for the Department of Energy, where he helped develop the inspection techniques and monitoring procedures used in the disposal of 15 tons of Russian enriched uranium. And at the DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the1990s, he and a colleague used experience gained working on the X-ray laser defense initiative to develop the first full-field digital mammography system for detecting breast cancer in women.

Along the way, he became president of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists, an avid runner who has participated in the Marine Corps Marathon and the father of five children. Ironically, Jose is heading toward space next week with another Hispanic astronaut, Danny Olivas, a graduate of my alma mater, The University of Texas at El Paso. Jose and Danny take with them the dreams and aspirations of many young people all over the country– not just Hispanic Americans. 

One can imagine that Cesar Chavez, struggling for the rights of Mexican farm workers in the fields of California, dreamed of such things. This week, as the Space Shuttle streaks across the sky toward space with the son of Mexican farm workers, we can realize and appreciate the great accomplishments to be achieved through unity, perseverance, dedication, and education. Jose’s accomplishment inspires us to reach for our goals and realize that education is certainly the great equalizer.

A study by North Carolina University in the August edition of Social Problems entitled “Networks of Opportunity: Gender, Race and Job Leads,” shows that White males receive significantly more tips about job opportunities than white females or Hispanics – particularly among people in upper management positions.

The study surveyed 3,000 people and examined the amount of information people received about job opportunities through routine conversations without asking for it. The findings are extraordinary but not surprising. According to the study, 95 times out of 100, white men receive more (upper-management) job leads than white women or Hispanic men or women. Another key finding contends that white male supervisory advantage is preserved through exclusive access to job information as compared to White females and Hispanics. In regard to Hispanics:  “social capital deficit compared to white males—combined with their personal and employment characteristics—explains their lack of job leads” (Mcdonald, Lin, & Ao, 2009, p.396).

The study demonstrates how the under-representation of Hispanics, women, and other minorities in management and leadership positions has far reaching, as well as long-term, implications.

Source:  Mcdonald, S., Lin, N., & Ao, D.. (2009). Networks of Opportunity: Gender, Race, and Job Leads. Social Problems, 56(3), 385-402.