Hispanic Professionals at odds over Diversity Polices

By Roger Knight

Raul Almengor started in an entry-level position at a Big Four firm after obtaining his BA in Accounting from the local State University. After seven years of moving up the corporate ladder, Raul complains, “I’m tired of feeling like I need to prove myself more than my Anglo peers.” Some of those peers even seem to question his management style as Raul usually develops a close mentor relationship with his subordinates instead of “letting them prove their own value to the company.” In such a place where diversity policies are strictly enforced, Raul confesses, “I sometimes wonder if I was promoted just because I’m Latino.” Respondents to a recent NSHP survey share Raul’s view as a large majority (75%) believe that diversity policies “are more words than actions” and “do not make a difference.”

In a recent article , we looked at the Latino stereotype and its presence in the workplace, and we found that the perception of the Latino stereotype as mostly negative is due to the fact that the stereotype refers mainly to the unskilled laborer and not to Hispanic professionals who represent only 14% of the Hispanic labor force in the US. In addition, the larger the Hispanic population density, the more negative presence of the Latino stereotype by region. This is contrary to popular belief given that most people would think that there would be more acceptance in regions where there are more Latinos.

In terms of diversity policies, however, our survey revealed no significant differences by region or gender. Although our survey focused on diversity exclusively in terms of ethnicity, the fact that female respondents have the same view as their male counterparts might raise some questions regarding diversity policies targeting women. Our results agree with a Catalyst study which found that 55% Latinas believed that their employers’ diversity policies were ineffective. In order to increase organizational effectiveness, companies targeting Hispanic professionals should understand the current dissatisfaction with diversity policies and initiatives in the workplace.

Richard Donkin, employment columnist at the Financial Times, blames the ineffectiveness of diversity policies to the possible contradictions between diversity and corporate culture. He contends that new employees face pressure to conform to the way the company does things, and any innovative approach to undertake business functions by an ethnically diverse recruit might be lost or disregarded in the process.

Besides conformism, another reason for Hispanic professionals’ dissatisfaction with diversity policies lies in issues of definition. Janet Perez, in a recent issue of Hispanic Business Magazine, argues that “workplace diversity” does not necessarily mean hiring more ethnic minority employees anymore. In fact, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Civil Rights defines diversity as “a term used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including but not limited to race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics.” Using this expanded definition of diversity, some companies actually manage to avoid becoming more ethnically diverse.

Either in paper or in practice, there seems to be a disconnect between employers’ and employees’ points of view on diversity policies. The Society of Human Resource Management confirms this as most HR managers believe their companies’ diversity policies to be effective. In the same manner, a 2005 study by Diversity Best Practices shows that 85% of ethnically diverse online job seekers agree it is important that the company they work for actively tries to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.

From the results of our survey, we may conclude that even though Hispanic professionals recognize the importance of workforce diversity, most do not see diversity policies as making a difference in their workplace. The obvious solution would be to reconcile those differences to meet the needs the Hispanic professionals as a group and, in turn, improve corporate profitability and productivity.

By Roger Knight for NSHP.org
Research Support Analyst
Institute for Latino Studies
University of Notre Dame
Based on NSHP Survey about Latino stereotypes