When Lourdes Estrada-Salinero went looking for Hispanic women serving as vice presidents at large Colorado companies, she found only two.
Instead of abandoning plans for a networking group of Latina corporate executives, Estrada-Salinero, director of business performance at Xcel Energy, saw a challenge. She and the two executives and a few other Latinas formed an organization to help increase the number of Hispanic women in the executive ranks.
“We thought, ‘Here is a great call to action,”‘ said Tammy R. Berberick, vice president of corporate synergies for Molson Coors and one of the two Latina vice presidents.
On Thursday, the six-member organization they created, Latina Executive Network, hosted a forum in Denver for human resource specialists and other executives from the metro area.
The event provided attendees with information on how to build the number of high-ranking Hispanic women in their organizations. The group wants to deliver information on a number of issues, including the best way to provide mentoring and the most effective way to retain employees.
Speakers, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, told the group of about 100 attendees that diversity at the top can improve a company’s ability to market products.
With a population of 44 million, the Hispanic community is the largest minority group in the nation. Hispanic purchasing power is estimated at $700 billion and is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010.
“These are consumers who are raising the children who will become your brand advocates for years to come,” said Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, chief executive of Los Angeles-based marketing firm Enlace Communications.
Although the total number of women vice presidents in the U.S. was 36,286 at the end of last year, only 1,997 of those women were Hispanics, according to Latina Style magazine.
Human-resources workers frequently say they aren’t able to find the Hispanic talent they want for their companies, Newman-Carrasco said. But companies that want to attract Hispanic talent have to look in places where members of that community congregate, she said.
They also have to be willing to overlook cultural differences such as style of dress that have nothing to do with ability.
One attendee, Beth Lieurance,vice president of human resources for Comcast’s Colorado operation, said it is easy to mistakenly believe that qualified Latinas aren’t available.
“But it’s not true; they are out there.”
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-820-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
