Tag Archive for: Latina Leaders

Claudia Vazquez: Founder, elevink

,

Claudia Vazquez“What I saw as a disadvantage at the beginning, I turned it around to make my secret weapon, because I realized this is what makes me unique and able to see things from a different perspective,” says Claudia Vazquez. “I turned my disadvantage into my differentiator.”

As part of celebrating Hispanic Heritage, we open our Latina Leader series with inspired sharing from Claudia Vazquez: her vision for Hispanic inclusion and lifting others up with her!

A Vision For Service

If you only read her official business roles across the years, you’ll know at best half of what Vazquez has truly been up to in the workplace.

Originally from Mexico, Vazquez came to the U.S. in her twenties, teaching English as a second language and volunteering as a citizenship instructor. When she began her career 22 years ago in disability claims at Unum, she immediately saw how she could leverage her bicultural/ bilingual assets to better serve the company and the Hispanic community.

Rather than going with the status quo process of using a third party translator, she began to field all calls from Spanish-speaking clients around disability claims. She then led the implementation of the Hispanic Initiative to create end-to-end bilingual services, eliminating cost and time inefficiencies of outsourcing. Within seven years, she went from claims specialist to heading up the Short Term Disability and Administrative operations in her field office in California.

“I didn’t approach with a diversity mindset. I approached with a service perspective,” reflects Vazquez. “I realized we could improve the service, have more loyal and satisfied customers, and use it as a selling point with clients. It also gave Spanish-speaking employees an opportunity to go above and beyond, support their community and receive recognition for speaking another language.”

When she moved to her next role at Cigna, she replicated this thinking and was asked to find more people with an intrapreneurial mindset like hers. She began to support the recruiting team in Hispanic outreach, emphasizing the importance of representation: “Nobody grows up thinking I want to work at an insurance company,” she argued. “So if we don’t personally represent what we’re trying to attract them to do, this is not a natural fit.”

Moving to the East Cost for a role in Prudential’s head offices, Vazquez enrolled into the Hispanic BRG on her second day. Within six months, she was co-leading the BRG and soon increased membership from 400 to 1000 – while creating best practices, relationship with hiring teams, and outreach to external partners.

“As my passion for supporting the Hispanic community at work evolved, I realized we have to start grassroots and then let things organically develop, so that a ripple effect is created,” says Vazquez. She began to focus on seeding the momentum that allowed partnerships to prove their value as they grew. With this approach, the Red Shoe movement proved so successful that it caught leadership attention and she traveled to Mexico and Brazil to highlight and expand the partnership.

An Advocate for Hispanic Inclusion

As a Hispanic Initiative officer, Vazquez saw the impact of bringing in change-agent partners. She began to shift to building those external relationships such as with We Are All Human and became a Hispanic Star Ambassador. As such, Vazquez has attended the United Nations as part of the delegation to roll out the Hispanic Star unifying symbol and platform to advance Hispanics in the US.

Despite a strong track record of following her mission towards inclusion, only in March did Vazquez formally move from senior business roles to take on a VP of Diversity and Inclusion role. In the role, she developed a strategic roadmap for inclusion on hiring, retaining, developing and celebrating Hispanic talent, laying out both fundamentals and execution strategies.

“I have a passion towards supporting the Hispanic community, but I also see it as a business imperative in the US. Anyone that’s not attuning to Hispanics is going to lose market share,” says Vazquez, pointing out Hispanics make up one of every five people and growing.

Vazquez also iterates that attracting early loyalty among the Hispanic community is critical, because word of mouth and following the family or neighbor recommendations are huge influences on decision-making.

Lifting Others Up With Her

As a Hispanic BRG leader, Vazquez also leveraged the opportunity to mentor and sponsor others in the workplace. She brought more visibility to group members by creating project management opportunities – with clear job descriptions and weekly time investment required – and then by updating their managers about the impacts they were delivering.

“This gave their managers an opportunity to see their employees from a completely different angle of perspective that they had not necessarily experienced directly with them,” says Vazquez. “I wanted to make sure people saw they had everything it took. They just sometimes needed to be able to sell or position themselves differently.”

Vazquez emphasizes staying connected to your own essence and North Star. “I’ve promised myself that regardless of how fast or how far I’m going, I’m still going to be me and not forget where I came from. And I’m not going to forget that there are many individuals still looking to find their path.”

This is what drives Vazquez in her personal mission that co-exists with the day job. It’s why she shares her story to inspire students through HISPA. It’s why she’s available if someone reaches to her on Linked In. It’s why she founded elevink to mentor younger generations on mindfulness, creating a personal brand, and challenging them to envision their future so they begin to steer their choices and energies in that direction.

Owning Her Voice

“Sometimes we question ourselves and protect ourselves because we’ve been through so much. In my case, I’ve been working since I was 14 in Mexico to help my mom, I paid for my education, I left my family to come to the US with English as my second language, I began working with an associates degree and studied full-time while working, so there are sacrifices,” says Vazquez. “But if I had the confidence in my 20s I have now, I don’t know how much larger the impact could be.”

She continues, “We need to trust our gut. We know exactly where we see ourselves, but sometimes we’re afraid to share that vision,” she says. “We just need to move confidently in the pursuit of our dreams. From every setback, we can learn.”

Often the only Hispanic at the table, Vazquez never gives up the vision. Instead, she allows time to pass and looks for new opportunities and angles to pursue: “After many years of navigating Fortune 500 companies, I have learned how I need to approach certain things, and I also understand that change is difficult. Companies will be ready at a certain time, and when they are, things will happen.”

Reflecting on her own journey: “After 25 years of revalidating, I have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. I’ve become more of an unapologetic Latina who stays optimistic about our future possibilities, but it took me 22 years of going through this journey to realize that it’s my life, it’s my vision, it’s my calling.”

Vazquez has learned to take herself a little less seriously. She recently returned from a self-care trip to California with her mother and sister, leaving her husband and three children back at home. She recommends taking the time to celebrate your achievements.

As for her vision: “I’m still getting closer to where I ultimately see myself: as a CEO of a nonprofit organization that caters to Hispanics. That’s what I’m aiming and preparing myself for in the long run. My goal is to leave a mark in the evolution of Hispanics in the US.”

By Aimee Hansen

/by

14 Key Career Insights From Latina Leaders in Business

, ,

Latina Leaders in BusinessAfter sharing top tips on self-promotion from Latina leaders in business as part of our Hispanic Heritage month coverage, The Glass Hammer continues our two-part feature with more key insights from Latina leaders we’ve interviewed across the past years:

1. Value Those Who Show Up For You

If you want people to take personal interest in developing you, value the gift of energy and time they give, advised Cassandra Cuellar, Attorney at Shearman & Sterling.

“People are more than willing to have conversations with you when you show you appreciate their time,” said Cuellar. “Female partners whom I don’t even work with have reached out, which was so impressive that these busy women would welcome me and offer their support.”

Update: Cassandra Cuellar remains an Attorney in Shearman & Sterling’s Emerging Growth practice group, with the firm now for over 3.5 years.

2. Embrace the Learning Phase

You’re not expected to be an expert when you begin, emphasized Lina Woods, as Director, Global Digital Go-To-Market Leader at PwC.

“There were times of stress when I should have realized it was okay to learn along with everyone else,” realized Woods, ”and I see now that I could have harnessed that perceived vulnerability and realized you should just dive in and do your best.”

Update: With PwC for over five years, Lina Woods was appointed to Managing Director and Commercial Product Strategy Leader in June of this year.

3. Balance Intuition with Receptivity

Growing as a leader means both trusting yourself and being receptive to feedback, observed Priscila Palazzo, as Legal Director at WEX Latin America.

“While law might appear to be my main job, I also excel at understanding people and their behavior,” said Palazzo. “It’s important to be open to new ideas and thoughts, but especially to feedback. If you seek it out and reflect on it, it can help show you areas where you can grow and improve. As women, we tend to follow our hearts and intuition, but we need to balance that with feedback.”

Update: With WEX Brazil for over seven years, Priscila Palazzo is General Counsel.

4. Look Up And Around

You benefit hugely by looking up from your work and connecting, noted Anita Romero, General Counsel, Global Consumer at Citibank.

“When you’re first starting out, you’re so focused on doing excellent work that you don’t realize the many benefits of seeking advice from peers in your network,” said Romero. “People learn over time, but had I known that up front it would have really helped.”

5. Be Resilient With Your Vision

It’s easy to lose faith at obstacles, but Cristina Estrada, Head of Derivatives for the Latin America Financing Group, Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, encouraged to keep the course.

“Pursuing what you are passionate about and chasing your dreams are key to having a successful career,” said Estrada. “Being patient is important though: there are ups and downs in everybody’s journey. Persistence and seeing beyond occasional difficulties pay off.”

Update: With Goldman Sachs for nearly 17 years, Cristina Estrada remains in her position.

6. View Detours As Opportunities

What appears as a career deviation may become your next adventure, guided Isela Bahena, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure Group at Nuveen Real Assets.

“It might seem scary, but looking back I see a lot of growth when I took those chances. There will be challenges, but sometimes the bridge is going to look different when you actually cross it,” said Bahena, known by junior colleagues for being calm amidst changes. “I tell them that’s because in the long run I always see them as opportunities.”

Update: With Nuveen Real Estates for over 3.5 years, Isela Bahena remains in her position.

7. Be The Change

Be the change the you wish to see, championed Elizabeth Nieto, as Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at MetLife.

“Women who have power can continue to push the envelope on women’s interests. We can complain about where we are or focus on what we’re achieving. Things may not be perfect in the corporate world, but we’ve accomplished a lot and we have to build from here,” encouraged Nieto. “Our daughters are watching us and making decisions about their lives based on how we make decisions about our own lives.”

Update: After nearly seven years at MetLife and a two year stint at Amazon, Elizabeth Nieto became Global Head of Equity and Impact at Spotify in March.

8. Create the Belonging

Women need to become aware of the barriers they impose upon themselves and invite each other in too, emphasized Yesi Morillo-Gual, as Founder and President of Proud To Be Latina.

“I started Proud To Be Latina because of some of the challenges I faced in my own career. These included things like not knowing how to navigate the landscape, not knowing about the unwritten rules, not having a lot of support, and also not really believing that I belonged because the majority of my colleagues did not look like me,” said Morillo-Gual. “There is a sense that we don’t belong, or that we have to leave who we are behind in order to advance our careers. We tend to question ourselves and our abilities.”

“I often hear women say that corporate America was not designed for them, and in response I tell them that corporate America may not have been designed for me, but I was designed for corporate America,” she added.

Update: Yesi Morillo joined Cushman & Wakefield as Director, Global Head of ERGs & External Partnerships in April.

9. Ask For Support

Getting past the notion of being the totally independent woman is hard but it’s also growth, shared Rosa Bravo, Business Development Director at Accenture, who started her career as an aerospace engineer.

“One of the things I wish I had known earlier is that it’s okay to ask for help. There are so many choices you have to make along the way, and you just can’t do it alone,” reflected Bravo. “I’ve been culturally conditioned to be a strong woman, to want to be able to do everything on my own. It took a few years to feel comfortable to raise my hand and ask for help when I needed it, but it made things much easier when I did.”

Update: Senior Technology Executive Rosa Bravo has been with Accenture for over 27 years.

10. Don’t Delegate Your Career Path

It’s important to design your own career rather than delegating that to your boss, asserted Valeria Strappa, as Head of Efficiency and Cost Management for Citi Latin America.

“What I think is important is to first be the designer of your own destiny and second, to learn that you might not necessarily get what you think you deserve, you will get what you are able to ask for and to sell for your results,” said Strappa. “A lot of times women think people will recognize their work. And they do, but that doesn’t mean you get what you were expecting for it. You have to be able to solve a big problem for a big leader and of course be able to stand up and show your results.”

Update: After a decade with Citi, Valeria Strappa has been with JPMorgan Chase & Co for nearly five years, and was appointed Managing Director – Head of M&A Integrations and Client Relationship Management in January 2020.

11. Embrace Change As a Catalyst

Change can be disruptive, but Elizabeth Diep, back when she was Senior Manager in PwC’s Asset Management Practice, challenged women to leverage it to advance their careers.

“Be open minded. There is such a changing landscape in this profession. We are seeing growth in Latin America, while in Europe, there are challenges now but absolutely something different is going to come out of it. It’s about being open to opportunities and not hesitating to take on new roles,” advised as Senior Manager, Asset Management Practice at PwC. “Every experience, whether good or bad, is going to help you grow. Don’t resist change. Change will help you become a seasoned professional a lot faster and a lot better.”

Update: Elizabeth Diep made Partner in 2013, and has been with PwC for over 21 years.

12. Leverage The Cultural Asset of Connectivity

Nellie Borrero, Managing Director, Senior Strategic Adviser of Global Inclusion and Diversity at Accenture, expressed that Hispanic women have an advantage in relationship building.

“We understand the advantage of relationships – it’s so embedded in our culture. That savviness and understanding of the importance of relationship building and maintaining relationships comes naturally to the Hispanic community,” asserted Borrero, who emphasized to network strategically: “And I would like to see young women do more of this: be able to reach out to the women at the top, and absorb that coaching and experience they can share. Become a sponge and absorb as much as you can. If they’re up there, they’ve found a way to make it work.”

Update: With Accenture for nearly 28 years, Nellie Borerro remains in her position.

13. Empower Yourself To Ask for What You Want

Twenty five years into her career, Marilyn Foglia, Managing Director and Head of Latin America at UBS Global Asset Management, realized it didn’t pay to be timid.

“I wasn’t always so persistent about getting my ideas on the table – but now I am!” Foglia declared. “If you’re too polite and wait for an opening to speak you may never get a voice. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. We women tend to think that if we work hard, we will be rewarded. But we have to ask for it.”

She encouraged women not to think of themselves as having less opportunities: “If you do that, you become afraid to voice your own opinion. Be sure to express your beliefs broadly. People will eventually hear you – that’s how you get recognized and move up the ladder.”

Update: With UBS for over 28 years, Marilyn Foglia remains in her position.

14. Find a Culture You Can Thrive In

Put the right environment at the top of your criteria when it comes to career-related decisions, advised Noelle Ramirez, Project Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at PGIM.

“Culture first. Seek out advice from people that are already there. What has their experience been? Do they feel comfortable? Do they feel like they can bring who they are to the table? If the answer is yes, that’s a good place to start. It takes away a lot of productivity and energy to not be who you are,” said Ramirez. “Go somewhere where you can be yourself. I’m very passionate in my delivery and it’s part of my culture. Making sure I’m in an environment where that doesn’t have to be shut off is important. Look for environments that are ready to receive you, because that’s where you’ll be your most productive, innovative, creative and strategic.”

Update: Interviewed earlier this year, Noelle Ramirez remains in this position, with PGIM for nearly 2.5 years.

We hope you enjoyed this two-part retrospective!

By: Aimee Hansen

/by

Monica Marquez: Co-Founder, Beyond Barriers

,

Monica Marquez“It’s transfer of knowledge, it’s paying it forward, it’s saying ‘here are the unwritten rules that you need to know that not everybody is going to tell you’,” says Monica Marquez. “Why don’t you learn from my mistakes, and then maybe you can get here in half the amount of time that I did?”

As an Equity & Inclusion expert, Monica has previously worked in the cultures of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Ernst & Young and Google, with a focus on pioneering efforts to support women to advance through the most tricky parts of the career path.

Advancing the “Frozen Middle”

“I’ve had a natural affinity towards pursuing a career that focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion,” says Marquez. “The whole theme of creating opportunities and a sense of belonging, and helping people to accelerate their success, has always been core to what I loved to do and help organizations do at scale.”

Beyond Barriers takes a campus to C-suite approach: “What happens throughout a woman’s career trajectory that causes so much attrition from the entry level to the top? For more than a decade, over 50% women have been graduating from US universities and colleges, outpacing their male peers. How is it then, that only 8% of women hold C-suite roles in Fortune 500 companies?”

Marquez’s passion has been to understand the systemic barriers at play and how to navigate them to accelerate success: “Companies do a really good job of recruiting women in the early stages, but they don’t do a good job of supporting them and helping them grow and stay, often losing them as they are rising up.”

Despite so much front-end investment in talent, Marquez feels organizations often fail to support women through the “frozen middle” when the challenge of integration of work with new motherhood becomes a huge adjustment for many, and when attrition peaks.

She notes that many women are passionate about coming back until they return to experience being sidelined—so they are both pulled by their new responsibilities and pushed out by the organization. After the second child, the percentile of women opting out or taking a break goes way up.

Marquez has found that often a dance of projected assumptions goes on between both sides of the coin. Women often don’t feel their managers/organizations will be supportive of their boundaries or needs. Organizations often assume what women will want for themselves, or be available for.

“It’s partly the assumptions, stigmas, stereotypes, unconscious biases that managers and leaders have at play, rather than just open communication,” she says. “The conversation needs either the woman being confident and having clarity of what she wants and being able to ask for what she wants, or the leader asking the woman that question and giving her the opportunity to answer for herself.”

Marquez has seen that when the tough conversations actually happen, things like flex schedules and promotion plans can be arranged. It’s after all more efficient to support a woman to stay and keep progressing than to bring in somebody entirely new from scratch.

“Don’t be afraid to say this is this is what I want and don’t be ashamed of your ambition. You shouldn’t be told you either choose your ambition or you choose the family. It doesn’t have to be that way,” advises Marquez, who also points out: “Companies do invest a lot in development with women, but they sometimes have to be strategic and target the high performers. If you were to get to these women a lot earlier, you would have more mid-career women make it through to the top.”

Pioneering the Returnship® Program

Perhaps Marquez’s proudest accomplishment is the Returnship® Program she began back at Goldman Sachs over a decade ago, to help companies retain experienced women and to help women gently reintegrate back into work after maternity leave.

“Back then, there was a significant stigma if you left the workforce and tried to come back in. The gap was a huge mark on your resume, and usually employers would overlook you,” she notes. “There’s a hidden talent pool of women that companies are losing out on because you have this traditional bias against the resume gap. And we started thinking: how do companies hire in the first place?”

Marquez and her team adapted the internship experience and introduced the Returnship® program in financial services at Goldman Sachs. Across a 10-12 week stint, women came back into an office, usually taking on one focused, substantial project in a team who held an open position. Women were able to reacclimatize through a first dip back into work mode and teams received experienced help on standing projects. If the practical trial showed a mutual fit, full-time placement would result and regardless, both parties benefitted.

“In our first few pilots, we had a placement rate in the 90th percentile, and the majority of the 10% who didn’t get placed were women who chose to stay out, after realizing that they weren’t ready for full-time work,” says Marquez. “It’s the fulfillment of helping people gain opportunity when the doors are all closing that’s been my guiding passion.”

Being Latina in Corporate America

Marquez notes that Latina women face stereotypes based upon gender and culture: such as the loud Latina, the overly emotional Latina or the family-first domestic Latina mother.

She’s experienced herself that being a “first generation corporate” can be very isolating, allowing space for imposter syndrome and self-doubt, often because Latina women are the “only” Latina around in the context and because they often do have different influences and voices at home, sometimes intergenerational, due to the cultural loyalty to family.

Some cultural influences can be resourceful to help Latina women thrive and others can be limiting.

While women of color were less prevalent in the Returnship® program, the team found ironically (vs. stereotypes) that Latina women were less likely to have opted out of the workplace for home responsibilities than their white peers, precisely because they had a strong Latino family structure and childcare support within their extended family.

“The cultural norm of the tight-knit Latino family unit, where they maintain a sense of a village to raise a family, helped some women stay employed opposed to having to opt out,” notes Marquez.

On the other hand: “We come from various Latino cultures where work ethic is a really big deal: put your head down, work really hard,” says Marquez. “However, you learn quickly that in the corporate world, you’re going to get overlooked if you just keep your head down and work hard. You have to learn self-promotion and have the flexibility to go against the grain of what you’ve always been taught.”

And so, Marquez has created employee resource groups to help with opportunity/cultural gaps such as coaching soft-skills and self-promotion among first generation college or corporate individuals.

Acculturate, not Assimilate

Having always been fascinated with cultural differences and their influences on decision-making, Marquez impresses upon Latina women that “there’s a fine line between assimilation and acculturation”.

“You have to be very careful when you go into an organization that is predominantly white male cisgender-led that you don’t assimilate too much, to where you’re contorting yourself into a pretzel in order to belong. You want to keep some authenticity,” says Marquez. “I usually tell people that you have to acculturate and embrace every organization you belong to. They each have their unique culture and define success in a different way. You have to look at every organization like its own country that you visit every day.”

She suggests getting underneath what characteristics are driving success in your organization and then emulating those characteristics by adopting strategies that are right for you within the organizational “cultural” context, without compromising your own truthfulness.

For example, colleagues may go to the local pub to network, but it’s narrow-minded to think you have to stay two hours after work as the requirement to be successful. The value is developing relationships, and you can figure out a way to develop more depth to informal connections through breakfast and lunch invitations during work hours.

“It’s figuring out where you can set your own boundaries. You acculturate opposed to assimilate, and you challenge them on the ways it happens,” she advises. “The important thing is the relationship building. It’s not the happy hour.”

“Don’t assimilate and lose who you are. Instead, acculturate and hold onto those core values of your culture, because that also enriches the organization,” she notes. “The representation of diverse cultures brings about an organic diversity of thought that is needed to create bigger and better solutions for organizations.”

Less Certainty, More In-The-Moment Agility

“Women have a tendency to be very certainty driven, and they end up not taking as many risks and opportunities. It’s like that quote ‘doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will’,” says Marquez. “Women need to be much more open to taking the opportunity and embracing just-in-time learning, so they don’t rob themselves before they try.”

Marquez feels women disadvantage themselves by feeling they will be safe only if they already know everything. Whereas men’s willingness to put their name in the hat, dive in and then figure it out means they advance more quickly.

She recommends women weigh the risk and reward, and if they can live with the downside, just go for it: “Women will second guess and short-change themselves, but we are remarkable and extremely resourceful. You have to look at these opportunities and tell yourself, ‘I only check two boxes out of ten, but I’m going to put my name in the hat because this is my North Star. This is where I want to go’d.”

Noting that the average shelf life for a new skillset is now eighteen months, Marquez feels women should tap more into their natural agility to change and juggle, and embrace more just-in-time learning.

For her, a key component of accelerating gender equity is simply facilitating the transfer of knowledge: “If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten here so much quicker and probably in half the time that it took me to become a senior leader,” reflects Marquez, who is doing all she can to bring others up behind her.

To learn more about how Monica and her company (Beyond Barriers helps organizations retain and develop female leaders), visit www.iambeyondbarriers.com.

By: Aimee Hansen

/by

11 Tips From Latina Leaders on Self-Confidence and Self-Promotion

, ,

Latina leadersAs part of celebrating Hispanic Heritage, The Glass Hammer covers career insights and tips shared by Latina Leaders in business whom we’ve had the fortune to interview over the years.

In this retrospective two-part feature, we’ve mined the best experience-based guidance across our profile interviews with Latina leaders. As the theme of authenticity, self-confidence and self-promotion have been emphasized again and again, we focus entirely on facets of this critical message for part one of this feature.

1. Claim Your Self-Worth Early In The Game

Entering an industry or an organization where too few people look like you can be challenging, but there is never a more important moment to believe in yourself and claim your worth, emphasized Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon, Managing Partner at Avante Capital Partners.

“I wish I had known from the start of my career that I should have more confidence in myself,” said Rodriguez Simon. “Over time I’ve realized that you should never doubt your own capabilities. There may be obstacles, but you can do it. With a lot of luck, hard work and great mentors I’ve made it in this industry, which is hard for women, especially minority women.”

Update: Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon remains in this position, now with Avante Capital Partners for nearly 13 years.

2. Embrace All of Who You Are

Finding an authentic sense of self is essential for all women, but especially for young Latina women just starting out in their career, impressed Yvonne Garcia, as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Client Solutions, Investment Manager Services at State Street Corporation.

“It is critical to realize that the diversity of thought and cultural experiences that you bring are so valuable to organizations. Embrace who you are, make sure you find mentors and sponsors that will help you develop and grow as a leader,” advised Garcia. “Get involved in volunteer organizations like ALPFA where you will be able to grow and give back at the same time.”

Update: Yvonne Garcia was promoted to Chief of Staff to CEO at State Street in January 2019.

3. Stay Authentic To Your Truth

In tech for over two decades, Rocio Lopez, as IT Executive at Accenture, realized at a deeper level from Accenture’s Hispanic American Employee Resource Group (ERG) that she needed to be authentic about what she brought to the table as a talented Hispanic technologist.

Both passionate about advancing diversity and leading Latinx American talent attraction initiatives, Lopez said: “The one piece of advice I would give to anyone is to be authentic. For the longest time, I was trying to run in a different size shoe – actually a male size 8. It wasn’t until I met my ERG family that I realized I like my 7.5 size red high heels.”

Update: Now with Accenture for over 26 years, Rocio Lopez was promoted to Technology Strategy Lead NA Education Practice in January 2020.

4. Allow Your Unique Personality To Shine

By allowing her unique self to shine through, Laura Sanchez, Managing Director, Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs, found that she was better able to form more impactful bonds with clients and colleagues that helped to create a more fulfilling career.

“When you’re new – and I had also switched industries – you may be anxious about fitting in and looking like everyone else or acting like everyone else. But trying too hard to fit in can stifle who you are. To not be yourself for the majority of your day creates a lot of stress,” Sanchez reflected. “When I’ve been true to myself and let my own light shine through, that’s when I’ve been my best. That’s when I think the success started.”

Update: Laura Sanchez remains in this position, now with Goldman Sachs for over 27 years.

5. Become A Supportive Friend to Yourself

Believing that women had many advantages in the area of dispute resolution, including the ability to appreciation a situation from multiple perspectives, Ximena Herrera-Bernal, as Counsel in the International Arbitration Group at Shearman & Sterling, London, urged women to encourage the truth of their own voice in the room.

“It is imperative to believe in your abilities and to make your views appropriately known,” Herrera-Bernal said.“ When you’re doubting yourself, imagine that you are giving advice to a female friend who is experiencing the same issues. Then listen to your own advice.”

Update: After 16 years with Shearman & Sterling, Ximena Herrera has gone on to be a Founding Partner in Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya (GBS) Disputes.

6. Let Your Difference Empower Your Voice

The very thing that once inhibited you from using your voice is often what validates its importance, asserted Noelle Ramirez, Project Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at PGIM.

“I bring to the table my lived and learned experience as a woman, a lesbian woman, a Hispanic woman,” said Ramirez.“ The things that kept me quiet in the room before are the things making me speak the loudest in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion space.”

Update: Interviewed earlier this year, Noelle Ramirez remains in this position, with PGIM for nearly 2.5 years.

7. Be Forward About Owning Your Work

It was a decade into her career before Paula Arrojo, Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor, Investment Management at Goldman Sachs, figured out that she had to match her hard work with her self-promotion.

“Women often expect that if you work really hard you’ll be noticed and rewarded. But they need to realize how important it is to let the right people know what they’re working on and what they want next – what team, what clients,” Arrojo said. “If you want to go for it, you have to position yourself to have that credibility. Had I known to be more strategic in this area earlier, I would have saved a lot of time getting to where I am.”

Update: Paula Arrojo remains in this position, now with Goldman Sachs for 21 years.

8. Beyond Your Role, Build Your Personal Brand

After watching too many women voice their great idea only after the meeting finished, inhibiting their success from their hesitation to speak up, Patricia McCarthy, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, emphasized the importance of being proactively seen and heard.

“When you have good ideas, you need to voice them and add value. Remember that your job is to contribute to your team, and that entails being confident and pushing yourself beyond what your perceived role is,” McCarthy noted. “More than achieving a title or promotion, my biggest source of pride is establishing a personal brand as an individual who can improve a process.”

Update: Patricia McCarthy remains in this position, now with Goldman Sachs for over 17 years.

9. Be Your Own Best Advocate

When it comes to advancing as you become more senior, Grissel Mercado, as Counsel at Shearman & Sterling LLP, emphasized you have to go beyond focusing on doing excellent work and build a profile.

“Young attorneys tend to focus on delivering excellent work, which is important, but also expected. You also have to seek out opportunities to network,” said Mercado. “Nobody is a better advocate for you than yourself. Women need to take more initiative. If you’re talking with the team before a call, mention a success, just as a man would.”

Update: With the firm for 14 years, Grissel Mercado was appointed to Partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP.

10. Self-Promote To The Leaders Above You

Take the shame out of self-promotion and instead learn how to do it by doing it, emphasized Ilka Vázquez, Advisory Partner at PwC US.

“I think it’s ok to brag a little about your impact and what you’re bringing to the table. We assume someone is noticing our great work and will reward us, but the reality is that you can speed up the process if you talk about your success to people who are influential,” Vázquez noted. “Your elevator speech gets better the more you give it and can help you establish a personal brand.”

Update: Ilka Vázquez remains in this position, now with PwC for 11 years.

11. Know That You Are Ready (Enough!)

Opportunity is the chance to grow into the role, communicated Neddy Perez, as Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Talent Management COE at McCormick & Company.

“Women are still socialized to put their heads down and work hard with the hope that someone will recognize your success. The reality is you have to become your own best advocate. As long as you feel comfortable with 70% of requirements of a job then go for it,” encouraged Perez. “No one is ever 100% ready for their next job; we just have to get comfortable with asking for what we want and going for it.”

Update: Neddy Perez remains in this position, now with McCormick & Company for nearly 3 years.

Look out next week for part two of this series on wisdom and insight from Latina leaders in business over the years.

By Aimee Hansen

/by

Embracing Culturally Relevant Latina Leadership

, ,

Latina LeadersTheglasshammer is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 with profiles of Latina leaders and feature themes.

When we look at the numbers among corporate leadership for Latinx executives, little has quantitatively shifted, but what is finally evolving is the talk around the journey: towards valuing culturally integrative leadership.

Latina Style called out the Top 10 Corporate Latina Executives of 2020, included Agnes Suarez, President & CEO of AIG; Leticia M. Sanchez, Executive Director and Market Director of Banking at JP Morgan Chase & Co. Customer Bank; Luz Esparza, Managing Director, Los Angeles of Accenture; Patty Arvielo, Co-Founder and President of New American Funding, and Patty Juarez, National Diverse Segments Director, Commercial Banking Group, Wells Fargo & Company.

But among 16 current Hispanic CEOS of the top S&P 500 companies, women hold none of those positions. Between 2000 and 2020, Latinx have made up only 36 of new Fortune 500 CEO appointments, and there’s been 41 Latinx CEOS, with only two being women.

While calling out Latinx tech leaders, Latin America Reports points out that Latin America itself has been now birthed 17 unicorns, 14 of which have developed in the last three years, and mostly in finance, insurance, and real estate.

Nit Reeder of Ernst & Young notes that Latinx entrepreneurs are leading the start-up scene, with over 40% of Latinx entrepreneurs being millennial and Latinas starting up businesses at five times the rate of their male counterparts. But the same time, even as far back as November, Covid-19 was closing a third of Latinx-owned businesses.

And in a broader glance of the Latinx working population, a recent Aspen Institute report emphasizes integration of the Latinx workforce into the digital economy—as the group highest at risk of digital displacement from automation.

Gaps in Both Perception and Opportunities

The IBM Institute for Business Value published a survey report called Untapped Potential: The Hispanic Talent Advantage, based on 1000 Hispanic leaders offering their perceptions on the opportunities and lack thereof in the corporate workplace during a 33 hour virtual jam session.

When it comes to perception of the Hispanic community, only 16% of participants felt the community is unified and nearly nobody (2.5%) felt the perceptions of the Hispanic community reflect the reality.

They found 41% of Hispanic executives say they benefited from formal mentoring or training but only a quarter of junior managers felt they had access to mentoring programs and only 31% had access to workplace training.

Only 1 in 5 felt empowered to overcome the professional challenges they faced.

The experience of prejudice or feeling they needed to work harder was very prominent. 87% of all participants had experienced racial prejudice, and 63% had experienced prejudice due to accent, language or speech pattern. 63% of the participants felt they had to work harder because of their Hispanic identity and 82% of Latinas felt they did not get the respect they deserve. Latina women were also more likely to cite discrimination based on gender (78%) than white women (67%).

Among the senior leaders, they were most likely to give value to strong communication skills, personal organizational skills, and business savvy in terms of capabilities that supported their success. “Success” was most likely to be defined as both “achieving financial security” and “creating positive change”.

The report notes that a key gap was between the value that mentorship had played in supporting the more senior Hispanic leaders and the lack of mentorship reported available in the perception of the junior managers aspiring to leadership, urging companies to create a hiring advantage by cultivating more mentorship and sponsorship opportunities for young Latinx talent.

Latina women with sponsorship earn 6.1% more than those who lack sponsors, and early on, it can contribute to more stretch assignments and promotions.

Culturally Relevant Leadership Development

Whereas misperception of identity and feeling penalized for it are brutal headwinds to face in the corporate environment, there is increasing encouragement for Latinas to focus on turning this to your advantage.

Recent qualitative dissertation research entitled Recognizing La Cultura: The Experience of Cultural Scripts in Latina Leadership out of the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota found that in different ways, cultural identity and firsthand experiences can be catalytic in informing leadership approaches and trajectories.

Cultural scripts included:

  • familismo: the importance of close, protective, and extended family relationships
  • marianismo: gender roles according to which women are expected to be selfless, self-sacrificing, and nurturing
  • personalismo: creating personal and meaningful relationships
  • colectivismo: the importance of belonging to a group and recognizing the needs of that group
  • respeto: high regard granted to persons because of their formal authority, age, or social power
  • simpatía: promoting pleasant interactions and positive relationships, while avoiding conflict and disharmony

Based on her findings, Patricia E. Conde-Brooks, the dissertation author, emphasizes that “culturally relevant leadership development needs to be encouraged in the Latino community,” meaning the integration of cultural assets as fuel in the leadership journey.

She found that Latina leaders sustain a strong cultural heritage, and that leveraging the positive aspects of these cultural scripts not only fosters pride and empowers Latina women, but can be leveraged as important leadership assets in your toolbox.

At the same time, overcoming the inhibiting influence of marianismo is part of the journey for some Latina women. And while self-promotion is often felt to go against the cultural grain, a survey into women’s fear of self-promotion found that “African American (44%) and Hispanic (47%) women are far less likely to downplay their strengths and abilities than white (60%) women”: influenced by their generally younger age profile.

One organization tapping into social and navigational cultural wealth to accelerate Latina women to the C-Suite is LatinaVIDA, whose mission “is to empower and equip Latina professionals to overcome systemic workplace barriers through culturally relevant leadership programs.”

Drawing from the key traits that define many successful Latina leaders, the organization focuses on fostering Visibility (getting noticed for your talent and leadership), Identity (strong comfort with personal and cultural identities), Determination (holding your personal vision despite challenges and barriers) and Action (a willingness to step up and take responsibility of all facets of your life).

LatinaVIDA offers a number of programs and events, including culturally relevant peer-to peer empowerment, mentorship, collaboration and leadership development.

By: Aimee Hansen

/by

Six Forms of Cultural Wealth You Can Leverage As a Leader

,

cultural wealthIn her model of community cultural wealth, Dr. Tara J. Yosso identified six forms of cultural wealth (aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial and resistant capital) possessed and earned by socially marginalized groups, and countered the lens of cultural deficit.

Cultural wealth is defined as: “an array of knowledge, skills, strengths and experiences that are learned and shared by people of color and marginalized groups; the values and behaviors that are nurtured through culture work together to create a way of knowing and being.”

Affirming the cultural capital you’ve acquired as part of your road-tested skillset can be a compelling collective and personal narrative-flipper: factors that may have inhibited opportunities become empowering qualifications of your leadership ability. To walk into the room with a sense of cultural wealth integrated into your personal narrative could arguably reduce and reframe a sense of imposter syndrome.

In fact, Yosso’s model was initially designed to “capture the talents, strengths and experiences that students of color bring with them to their college environment”— but professional context, and even executive context, are even more compelling given you are further on the journey.

Here are the six forms of cultural capital and why they make you valuable as a leader.

Aspirational Capital

Aspirational capital is the ability to sustain hopes and dreams for the future amidst both real and perceived barriers.

As states the University of Portland UP Career Center, “It is the ability to envision a future beyond your current circumstances and work towards pursuing your dreams and aspirations.”

As Sheri Crosby Wheeler, VP of D&I at Fossil Group, told theglasshammer earlier this year when speaking to her own economically disadvantaged background: “I feel like it has given me the grit, the resilience, the fight, the get-up-and-go that I have to this day. I won’t see myself as ever being down and out, and I won’t stay in a ‘woe is me’ place, not for very long.”

The impact and success of Black and Latina female entrepreneurs, despite opportunity gaps, bias and barriers in the hallways of corporate America, bears testament to a mentality of sticking to a vision of realizing the dream beyond obstacles.

The ability to conceive of and hold to a vision beyond the current reality is not only essential to becoming a leader, but also what enables leaders to inspire entirely new visions and influence new realities.

Navigational Capital

Navigational capital is the ability to maneuver through systems and institutions that historically were not designed for you. Yosso notes that this capital empowers individuals to move within environments that can feel both unsupportive or hostile.

“I think you can approach a situation like that and feel like you’re the only one,” Gia Morón told us, on inviting herself into the NYC networking circle for the emerging legal cannabis industry, “or you can say, ‘I can invite other people and not be the only one.’”

As pointed out in Harvard Business Review by Marlette Jackson, PhD and Paria Rajai, the dedication many “first generation corporates” have to paying-it-forward and bringing others up through sharing the unspoken rules of navigating an organization is one way navigational capital comes into power. And for those who trail-blazed themselves, they bring that earned strategic and maverick gumption to what they offer.

“The most rewarding piece of my work is to create an opportunity and open a door, where traditionally that door may not have existed,” said Noelle Ramirez, Project Manager, DE&I at PGIM, about alternative recruiting channels, “to be able to put that spotlight on someone who might not have been seen and say, ‘I see you and there’s space for you here.’”

Social Capital

Social capital is leveraging existing community resources and connections in building a network in support of your goals.

The roles of social and cultural capital have been found to be key components in supporting academic achievement among Latinas. In one qualitative study of Latina women, the pursuit of higher education was truly conceived as a “family goal” in which sacrifices were made to realize the goal, and in turn the Latina women “considered their own educational advancements as advancements for the whole family.”

Recently, Monica Marquez, Co-Founder of Beyond Barriers, shared with us that years ago when pioneering a Returnship® program at Goldman Sachs that facilitated mothers back to work after their maternity leave, her team found Latina women were less likely to have opted out of work for home responsibilities than their white peers, because they had the strong family structure and childcare support within the family.

“The cultural nuance or norm of the tight-knit family, where it takes a village to raise a family, helped some women stay employed opposed to having to opt out,” said Marquez.

Linguistic Capital

Linguistic capital is the sum intellectual, social and communication skills attained through a particular language, history and experiences.

Linguistic research indicates that those who are bilingual or multilingual generally have more connectivity and integration in their neural networks, a sharper working memory, more cognitive reserve, better task-switching, more divergent thinking and are more adept at solving mathematical problems than monolinguals, for starters. Analyzing in a second language also reduces decision bias.

“I have the benefit of growing up in a different country and being exposed to different cultures, so that helps me to understand and work with cross-cultural teams,” Anna Thomas, VP at BBH, told us. “For example, in Asian culture, unless you actually reach out and ask, someone will often think it’s disrespectful to provide their view of things. I grew up in that culture, so I know and I can actually coax and ask someone to speak up. I can come from that angle.”

Yosso emphasized that cultures where oral storytelling is part of the daily cultural fabric bring “skills [that] may include memorization, attention to detail, dramatic pauses, comedic timing, facial affect, vocal tone, volume, rhythm and rhyme”, such as to narrative crafting and public speaking.

Familial Capital

Familial capital is the cultural knowledge and nuance obtained from family and community experiences, for example how the communal-orientation of many Latin cultures may predispose networking skills.

While crediting her parents for raising her in faith from a long line of ministers and pastors, Marie Carr, a Global Growth Strategist at PwC US, said: “I have confidence in and the ability to appeal to a force higher than myself. That’s helped me to be more patient, to put myself in other’s shoes, to not be so hard on myself. You have to be able to center yourself, because you’re often going to find yourself in an environment that’s not going to affirm you. So, the ability to affirm yourself is really useful.”

Familial legacy of challenge and strife can also compel compassionate leadership.

Megan Hogan, Chief Diversity Officer of Goldman Sachs, recently shared that her family’s journey from the Dominican Republic to find opportunity influenced her own pro bono passion of working with immigrants seeking asylum: “It’s always been important to me to advocate for people seeking refuge from persecution as a way to pay it forward and allow others to find those same opportunities.”

Resistant Capital

Resistant capital is the inherited foundation and historical legacy of communities of colors and marginalized groups in resisting inequality and pursuing equal rights. This includes embracing a resistance to stereotypes that are not authentic to your sense of self.

Overcoming barriers and challenging the status quo enables a leader-oriented lens of questioning conventional models and methods that aren’t working or may be problematic for long-term growth, according to the findings of HBR authors Jackson and Rajai.

“The narrative is often ‘I come from a low-income neighborhood, I was raised by a single parent, my father is in jail, my brother was killed, I didn’t go to an Ivy League school. I’ve got no credentials to lead…Who am I to run?” said May Nazareno, NE Director of Gifts at Ignite, to us, speaking of encouraging the inherent young female leaders from highly marginalized neighborhoods. “And we flip the script and say: who are you not to? We’re here to convince each young woman that her whole life is what makes her qualified to lead.”

By: Aimee Hansen

/by

Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri, Partner, CHRO at TPG

Anilu Vazquez-UbarriThroughout her career, TPG’s Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri has often been the “first” or “only” in many situations.

While she is proud of breaking barriers, she says her goal is to not be the last one or the only one.

“I want to change perceptions and help people realize that differences bring varied perspectives that make our whole corporate culture stronger.”

And, she admits, sometimes that comes with a sense of loneliness and second guessing. “Occasionally, you may question whether you have the opportunities you do because you earned them, and upon reflection, you realize that you not only earned them, but likely worked harder than anyone else to get them.”

Building an Impressive Career that Helps Others Rise

Vazquez-Ubarri began her work in corporate law, where she became familiar with the dynamism of people matters and M&A, interests that led her to a role at Goldman Sachs in employee relations. Joining right before the financial crisis, her thinking about business was completely transformed as she saw firsthand the criticality of strong leadership in surviving any situation.

She subsequently held a number of human capital roles, always with a bent to the talent side, eventually being named Managing Director, Global Head of Talent & Chief Diversity Officer. Two years ago, she joined TPG as the firm’s first Chief Human Resources Officer to help build out the HR function and continue to improve on what was already a great firm culture. She was promoted to Partner in 2019.

What she finds most rewarding is building functional teams while developing robust talent management practices that focus on ensuring they have the best person in each role. “It has become common to combine talent management with diversity to accelerate progress,” Vazquez-Ubarri says. “I redesigned this function at TPG to help the firm think more broadly about people matters and the positive impact that a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture has on performance and engagement.”

Currently she is in the final stretch of a two-year strategy to reimagine the people culture, in part by reinforcing a focus on effective managers and feedback. “We are re-defining the traits of a good manager and the behaviors that lead to good management to maximize performance and engagement,” she says. At the same time, the firm is bringing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to the forefront and also considering it in the role they play in capital allocation, the companies in their portfolio and their whole ecosystem. “We are challenging ourselves to continue to be leaders in our space,” Vazquez-Ubarri says.

Of course, additional priorities emerged as the pandemic raged, and the firm had to figure out what these goals mean in the context of disruption and new platforms for interactions. To that end, she has been leading the firm’s crisis management efforts and focusing on the health of employees and their families to keep them engaged even when remote – enabling them to continue to maximize their impact for stakeholders.

Working remotely would appear to be more challenging as they navigate weighty topics such as racial injustice, but Vazquez-Ubarri says the remote environment has created an ‘equalization of perspectives’ that has allowed teams to have candid conversations that might not have otherwise occurred if they had been in offices and hopping on planes.

“We held over 30 roundtables about racial injustice and our role as a firm and individuals to be change agents. In an interesting twist of fate those conversations were better enabled by technology.”

Developing Talent at All Levels

Vazquez-Ubarri believes in identifying people early in the pipeline and letting them know there is a path for them. Simply put, she wants to encourage people to plan to stay rather than plan to take their career elsewhere.

“Too often companies talk about top performers behind closed doors, but you need to let women know they are valued,” she says. For that reason, TPG closely monitors the talent pipeline to look two to three years ahead of promotions in order to better develop talent by considering what they have accomplished, finding the gaps and holding their managers accountable.

“I think that’s the most interesting feature of how we are looking at this. Our managers know that if they have a talented member of their team and don’t identify potential issues early on, that is a failure on their part,” Vazquez-Ubarri says. “We have to clearly articulate that we are invested and put our focus on ‘stay’ interviews so they don’t become exit interviews.”

Considering the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month, she mentions her focus on energizing the Hispanic population to help each other rise in the corporate environment. “We have a lot to offer with our diverse cultural background, and it’s important for companies to get to know and understand this talent base, which I believe is underutilized.”

Vazquez-Ubarri spends a lot of time coaching and mentoring women and Latinos who are looking to develop their careers and advance within their fields. “I am excited to see so many women achieve success in industries that normally have not been welcoming,” she says. “I hear them say that they like it here and are going to stay. I am quite optimistic for the state of women in the workplace and for the very important role we have to play in the world in general.”

She also serves on boards that are focused on justice and civil rights for the Latino community, but also have educational and networking components. These include ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America) and the Latino Corporate Directors Association, with whom she proudly partners to make sure that Latinos are represented on boards.

“I spend a lot of energy and capital on mentoring and challenging Latino professionals to stay in the game and move up the corporate ranks by making their voice heard and pursuing leadership opportunities.”

Independent of industry, role or level of seniority, Vazquez-Ubarri says it’s important to “run to the fire.” In other words, she says, don’t be afraid to go after things that are complex. “That’s where change happens, where you learn the most, and have the opportunity to become a trusted advisor.”

by Cathie Ericson

/by

Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon, Managing Partner, Avante Capital Partners

Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon“I wish I had known from the start of my career that I should have more confidence in myself,” says Avante Capital’s Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon.

But, as she says, when you enter an industry where no one looks like you, it can be challenging.

“Over time I’ve realized that you should never doubt your own capabilities. There may be obstacles, but you can do it. With a lot of luck, hard work and great mentors I’ve made it in this industry, which is hard for women, especially minority women.”

Setting an Example Through Dedication and Success

Not only has Rodriguez Simon “made it” in the industry; she has helped set the standard.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Rodriguez Simon grew up in a low-income neighborhood on the south side of Chicago becoming the first of her family to attend college—the University of Illinois, where she studied finance and accounting. Her journey in the financial world began when she was selected by a professor who would send a handful of students to Wall Street every year to see the financial world firsthand.

While there, she interviewed with Salomon Brothers and received the job. Positions followed in banking and private equity, then a mentor convinced her to apply to business school, and she earned her MBA from Harvard. Shortly after, she and her business partner established Avante Capital Partners, which has grown to become one of the largest women-owned private credit and equity funds.

For the past 11 years they have continued to grow the platform. Today, with a team of 14, the company has invested more than $500 million in 39 small businesses, making strong returns and never losing money on a loan.

As one might imagine, that is the professional achievement Rodriguez Simon is most proud of so far—launching a firm in an industry where there is stunningly little diversity. “Only 1% of the $7 trillion private equity industry is run by women or minorities, and I’m both,” she says. “We get to fulfill our mission every day, promoting diversity in our industry by hiring really talented people who just happen to be women or minorities.”

Finding Multiple Avenues to Increase Diversity

In addition to offering great jobs, Rodriguez Simon has found other ways to pay it forward. She has formed a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) through a program offered by the Small Business Administration. She is working closely with a number of senators to not only promote more diversity within fund managers, but more importantly to make sure there are more women- and minority-owned businesses that are able to access capital.

“It’s not just a mission, but a passion, and I am really excited about building a pipeline of women and minority fund managers and helping promote diversity within our industry,” she says. As part of this effort, Avante Capital launched its “Small Business Investment Scholars Program” this summer. Nine first generation college students, all women or minorities, were invited to participate in eight-week internships in order to get exposure to finance and break into the industry.

To further build the pipeline, she encourages young professional women to learn as much as they can upfront and develop their technical skills, but she also says it’s important not to quit on the industry. “It’s difficult and challenging, but rewarding in so many ways.” And Rodriguez Simon urges women at her stage to work together to recruit more women, to be intentional and brave about it.

On that note, she believes it’s important to join organizations that support and empower women. Rodriguez Simon has been an active member of the Private Equity Women’s Investment Network, which was founded by Kelly Williams. “She’s a groundbreaking leader in this industry, and after an extraordinary career started this organization whose only mission is to support and advocate for women in private equity management.”

While the industry has not typically been flexible for working women, Rodriguez Simon sees COVID-19 as an interesting test case of what it could be, as there has been resounding proof that yes, you can successfully and productively work from home. “Hopefully the acceptance of remote work that occurred during COVID-19 will have a cross-over effect that will open doors to more women.

“Historically women had to choose between careers and parenthood, and they would usually opt for the latter,” she says, adding that she was able to overcome that choice by creating her own business and making her own rules.

That has led to a healthy work/family balance, which has allowed her to spend more time with her husband and three kids, an 8-year-old and 11-year-old twins. Prior to COVID-19, they enjoyed abundant international travel, visiting Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Japan, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and more. Now, they stick closer to home, exploring California, until it is once again safe to resume those global treks.

“We go with a mission to learn about other people’s cultures,” says Rodriguez Simon. “You can break down a lot of the divides we have in this world when you talk to others and start to realize that at the core, everyone wants the same things.”

by Cathie Ericson

/by

Gia Morón, CEO, GVM Communications, Inc & President, Women Grow

Gia MoronFrom entertainment to Wall Street to PR entrepreneurship, Gia Morón has repeatedly found herself in spaces she never imagined.

With a gift for drawing connections and a super keen gut instinct, she’s now at the forefront of women leaders driving diversity in the emerging cannabis industry.

Different Industry, Similar Skills

As Director of Promotions and Publicity for an entertainment firm in her 20s, Morón cultivated a passion for telling stories. When one day she was laid off, a staffing company suggested a curveball.

“There wasn’t an inkling within me that would’ve thought that I would be on Wall Street,” she says, having barely paid attention to the stock market. “I was thinking how different could this be? Only to learn that the same skill set still applied, just in a different industry.”

As Media Relations Officer at Goldman Sachs, she found that finance was as much about storytelling as entertainment was. She also soon realized that everything – including the entertainment world – came back to the hub of finance.

“I thought it was only a stepping stone,” she says. “But I don’t think school could’ve taught me what I learned on Wall Street.”

Becoming an Entrepreneur

“Oftentimes when we’re in the middle of something,” says Morón, “we have no idea what we’re being prepared for next.”

Morón worked with the 10,000 Women initiative at Goldman Sachs, which also launched 10,000 Small Businesses. So when the 2011 downsizing ended her 15 year stint there, she started her own public relations, brand and business development firm to try out similar consulting, this time on her own.

“I said let me take the time to do this now,” she remembers, “rather than regret not doing it. If it doesn’t work, I can always go back.”

Morón launched GVM Communications, Inc on April 20th, 2012, a date (4/20) that, in retrospect, seems auspicious.

“I wanted to try something different, but I went back to something I was familiar with,” she comments, on initially taking on finance and tech affiliated companies as her client base. “And I thought to myself, I’ve got to fire myself and really go into something entirely different.”

So she began to amass clients from fashion to plastic surgery, which she now sees as preparing her for the next development, which sparked when she started noticing a documentary series on legal marijuana on CNBC around 2013.

The Story Didn’t Add Up

“I am thinking this is prime time and they are focused on marijuana on a financial network,” Morón recalls. “There’s something I need to pay attention to. And that (intuition) I attribute to Wall Street, where you learn about forecasts.”

What also piqued Morón’s intrigue was that all the interviewees for these businesses were white men, whereas people of color from her old neighborhood were being arrested for the same thing that was now becoming legal, and lucrative.

“There’s a changing of the tide that really is only showing the success of a white male community, but continues to show the disproportionate civil injustices against Black and brown people,” she observed. “Well, that didn’t make sense to me.”

Stepping Into the Room

After discovering Women Grow in a magazine she was cover-pitching for a client, Morón apprehensively attended her first meeting, just off Canal Street in New York City.

She was surprised to find a very friendly room of people dressed in blazers with an atmosphere akin to an afterwork social networking gathering, but only five Black people present.

“I thought you could pick this room up and put it anywhere in the country, but you’d never know you were in NYC based on the lack of diversity,” says Morón. “And we’re talking about marijuana, right? Why shouldn’t there be a whole plethora of diverse faces in the room?”

“I walked up to every single Black person with a smile on my face, the five in the room, and I was very direct. I said, ‘Hi Black person, my name is Gia’,” says Morón. “I wanted them to know I see us in this room, and I recognize that it is important for us to acknowledge each other.”

She would then suggest they get to know the room, and regroup. This strategy worked and for the next meeting, she and the others brought ten more interested people of color.

“I think you can approach a situation like that and feel like you’re the only one,” she says, “or you can say, ‘I can invite other people and not be the only one.’”

She realized from the meeting that her PR skills were needed in the cannabis industry, and began to bring in new clients in 2015 to her GVM portfolio.

“That is when I learned that whatever people were currently doing in their jobs or their businesses could be applied in the cannabis industry,” says Morón, attributing her vision again to her time in finance. “And once that light went on, I recognized that cannabis would eventually make its way into every industry that operates today.”

Forging Diversity In an Emerging Industry

For Morón, Women Grow is the “gateway” into the cannabis industry for women, a network of diverse women bonded by the common mission of becoming leaders in this emerging industry.

“Oftentimes we come into a new space with old practices looking for different results that cannot happen unless we become intentional and conscious about what we need to change,” she observes.

Her organization has repeatedly witnessed the need to challenge and disrupt the familiar bastions that uphold the white men’s club – such as disproportionate access to licensing and capital – amidst the major obstacles of no federal legality, regulation or banking system.

Women represent 27% of cannabis leadership so far, ahead of other industries, and this is a direct result of intentional action to correct the course, now. Still Morón says more work needs to be done to see further leadership of women in the industry.

A new partnership with the Arcview Group’ Women’s Investment Network (“WIN”) will focus on educating, deal flow and networking around investment.

Creating a Legacy of Leadership

Alongside brilliant colleagues she admires and feels bolstered by, Morón has forged inclusion not only in the industry, but also at Women Grow.

“White women often see diversity as gender first. Whereas women of color see diversity as cultural first, then gender,” she discerns. “I didn’t recognize that until I was having these amazing conversations with women across the industry.”

Morón talks about releasing the fear and judgment that arose as she ventured into cannabis, and how every stereotype that could come up has been blown apart. She said the biggest misconception most people have is that they must consume cannabis in order to be in the industry, which is not the case. Learning about the plant and regulations that vary from state to state about the industry is most important.

“My gut feeling kept telling me over and over, you’re on the right path,” she says. “I had to recognize every time I trusted my gut, it didn’t fail me. I’ve experienced small fails, but not complete failures.”

“I am so proud to actually be in an industry where I find people who look like me – women and people of color, coming together, having the backgrounds we have, doing the work we are doing, and I get to say this is my network of people,” Morón beams. “We are literally part of the bricklayers of building this industry.”

“Our ancestors or people from our communities have paid the price,” she says. “And now our responsibility is to execute and make a positive impact. We believe in an industry where we can thrive, and not just survive, but moreover really create legacies for our own families and communities.”

by Aimee Hansen

/by

Voice of Experience: Diane Ramirez, Chairman and CEO of Halstead

Diane Ramirez 1You have to have trust in your intuition; it can be easy to listen to all the buzz around you, but paying attention to your inner self will always lead you down the correct path, says Diane Ramirez.

As chairman and CEO of real estate firm Halstead, she knows that it takes an entrepreneurial bent to be successful in the business. “You’re not going to sit back and have someone guide you—you have to own who you are going to be, and it can be easy to forget that,” she says. But those who understand the business side of real estate will find themselves successful.

The Ideal Time for Each Step of Her Career

Ramirez came to this success via a path and timeline different from most women. While she started her career in marketing and advertising, she had two children quickly, and her focus turned to being a wife and mom for her young family. As she notes, most women tend to delay a family, which means they are often at the pinnacle of their careers and have to downshift, but hers was the opposite.

That’s because it wasn’t long until Ramirez realized she wanted and needed the passion that a career provided, and she found she was attracted to the entrepreneurial pace of real estate.

When her kids were in elementary school, she started as an agent, and as they got older and needed less hands-on attention, she was able to devote increasingly more time to building her career, eventually opening her own firm.

She started with a vision of three offices, and since then it has continued to grow to 36 offices in three states and more than 1,400 agents. But while the growth has been extraordinary, the professional achievement Ramirez is most proud of is that they are known for their culture, which while not easy to maintain throughout the growth, has been crucial to their success.

A Place To Belong

The firm underwent a rebranding last year, and she has been delighted to see that both her customer base, and, more importantly, the agents, have embraced it. One of their signature perks is access to a tailor who helps them procure a high-quality professional, yet affordable, wardrobe. The company included the new logo as the lining in the overcoats it designed and Ramirez has been happy to see that the agents are so proud of it that they’ll give a peek to a fellow agent, much like a secret handshake. The rebranding also included regional colors, which have also been well-received—in fact, she said that it has been gratifying to see each region’s agents believe they have the best colors.

Another important upgrade they’ve completed recently is a substantial technology initiative that has made it easier for agents to be more productive and keep up with advances that are important to their clients.

Ramirez finds real estate to be a fantastic field for women because of the flexibility it offers, but she also underscores that they need to realize that it can also be a 24/7 business, which is why it’s crucial to have support at home.

As she sees more women enter the industry, she encourages them to embrace fellow colleagues and be willing to share knowledge, with men and women alike. “The more we share, the more it will come back to you,” Ramirez says, adding that it’s important to remember that you’re not necessarily competing against each other for the same property, but rather competing to succeed in the business.

She finds that women frequently say they are excited to work for a woman. “It makes me really proud that they are looking for the support of someone who’s been there,” Ramirez says. And, she adds, not by design as her only goal was to seek the best talent, but her executive staff is half women and half men.

Family has always been important to Ramirez, and she makes certain that whatever part of her day she’s in, she is 100 percent present. “They know they can call me if they need something, but work is work, and then family time is family time,” she says. “That has always served me well because you can’t be both places at once or both will suffer. You have to find the ‘soft barrier’ between the two to make sure that everyone is taken care of at the right time.”

An avid traveler, she goes on trips with her family as much as she can and just took her children and grandchildren ages 11 to 21 on a safari that she says was “pure magic.” And while that was a marquee adventure, she makes the time to do frequent relaxing vacations so they can spend ample quality time together.

/by