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On February 9th over 400 of corporate America’s
highest-ranking Latinas gathered for the eighth
annual LATINA Style 50 Awards Ceremony and
Best Practices in Diversity Conference, honoring the
top 50 companies for Latinas to work for in the
United States. The event, held at the Grand Hyatt
Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C., drew CEOs and
high-ranking Latinas from among the top 50 companies,
influential leaders in the Hispanic community, and
federal and White House officials. The awards
ceremony was hosted by the U.S. Secretary of Labor,
the Honorable Elaine Chao, followed by an exclusive
reception at the White House hosted by U.S.
Treasurer, the Honorable Anna Escobedo Cabral.
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The highest-ranking
Latinas from the Top 50 companies |
The LATINA Style 50 serves as corporate
America’s most respected source for employment and
career information for Hispanic women. Established
in 1998, the LATINA Style 50 is a
comprehensive survey evaluating the recruitment,
retention, and promotion programs of corporate
America as they pertain to Hispanic women. This
year’s awards ceremony marks the eighth year of the
program, and the third year of Best Practices in
Diversity conference.
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U.S.
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao |
Maria Alonso
and Alvaro G. de Molina of Bank of America |
Cari M.
Dominguez, Chair, U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission |
The conference commenced with a keynote breakfast
address by the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Honorable Cari M.
Dominguez. She reminded the audience of the vital
role opportunity plays in the potential success of
any American and spoke about the necessity of
preventing discrimination in the workplace.
Dominguez noted the advancements of Latinas and all
diverse employees, and reminded attendees to defend
their colleagues and report discrimination, as that
is the only assurance to help prevent it in the
future. In addition to her remarks and
congratulations to all of the top 50 companies,
Dominguez shared with the audience some of the
latest programs offered by the EEOC. Among these
programs, and similar in nature to the LATINA
Style 50, is the “Freedom to Compete Award,”
recognizing six organizations that promote fair and
open competition in the workplace. She closed her
remarks by encouraging Latinas to continue to climb
the corporate ladder, and take seriously their role
in the ongoing struggle in achieving a truly diverse
workforce.
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Alicia
Fernandez-Campfield of Xerox Corporation,
Grace Lieblein of General Motors, Jessica
Montoya of DaimlerChrysler, Alice Perez of
U.S. Bank, and Maria Hackley of Citigroup |
Augustin
Melendez of Eastman Kodak, Patt Cronin of
IBM, Kathy Martinez of World Institute on
Disability, Marina Anderson of Procter &
Gamble, and Raphael Mirabal of the U.S.
Department of State |
Immediately following Dominguez’s powerful remarks,
the third annual Best Practices in Diversity
Conference began with the personal stories of some
of corporate America’s highest-ranking Latinas. The
first panel, “The Best and The Brightest: A
Strategic Approach to Mapping Your Career Path to
the Top,” brought together five accomplished Latinas
to share their experiences on their ascension
through the ranks within their companies. The panel
was moderated by Alice Perez, vice president and
Hispanic market manager for U.S. Bank, and included
Grace Lieblein, vice chief engineer at General
Motors; Maria Hackley, managing director of
Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking at
Citigroup; Jessica Montoya, executive assistant to
the senior vice president of external affairs and
public policy at DaimlerChrysler; and Alica
Fernandez-Campfield, vice president of Lean Six
Sigma development at Xerox Corporation. Each
panelist touched on the struggles they faced both as
Latinas and women in general, and how they have
grown in understanding the scope of their work. The
panelists also offered suggestions to the attendees
on how to effectively evaluate one’s personal
performance as it relates to a supervisor’s
expectations, as well as how to anticipate the needs
of one’s superiors. The panel concluded with
participants’ recommendations and strategies for
interfacing with senior management, noting the
importance of taking advantage of every opportunity
to network and communicate with senior executives.
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Raphael
Mirabal, deputy executive director of the
Bureau of Human Resources of the U.S.
Department of State |
Edie Fraser,
president of Business Women’s Network and
Diversity Best Practices |
Bob Reed,
vice president of diversity and inclusion at
Cingular |
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