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Since its inception in
1986, the mission of our
13-member coalition of
the nation’s most
respected Latino
advocacy organizations
has been to advance the
inclusion of Hispanics
in all aspects of
corporate operations at
a level commensurate
with our communities’
annual spending power of
nearly $1-trillion.
Latinos are the largest
— and remain the fastest
growing — population in
the country,
representing over 15
percent of the
population and one out
of every eight employees
in the nation’s labor
force. When we include
the 3.9 million
residents of Puerto Rico
and an another 10-12
million undocumented
immigrants who consume
U.S. products and
services — and directly
or indirectly pay a
variety of income,
property, sales and
other taxes — you can
see our stakeholders
have a major interest in
the nation’s current
economic and political
situations.
The willingness and
ability of corporations
to value the Hispanic
Consumer Market (HCM) in
the design and delivery
of their products or
services is critical.
For those who understand
the need to “kick-start”
our economy, they see
the concept of cultural
relevance as a critical
tool. It is becoming a
common practice of
successful corporations
— those that recognize
and value differences
and are supportive of
diversity at all levels
of their operations — to
ensure inclusion of
Latinos in their areas
of employment,
governance, procurement
and philanthropy.
A
prime example of
cultural relevance is
the marketing of
products or services to
targeted consumer groups,
which results from a
company’s recognition,
appreciation, and
integration of their
customers’ cultural
attitudes, behaviors and
values. It is critical
to develop these
culturally competencies
through hiring, training
and use of assessment
tools to establish
governance,
administrative, and
marketing practices that
are meaningful to
members of an
increasingly diverse
population.
One of the main
functions of any
governing body is to
identify the direction
for the entire
organization. If a
substantial amount of
sales and profits are
dependent on Latino
consumer spending, it is
becoming increasingly
critical to have someone
at the policy making
level who understands
marketplace needs. HACR
exists to offer
corporate America these
valuable insights into
the diverse Latino
community, to help them
develop effective
corporate responsibility
practices and help
increase customer
loyalties and
profitability among U.S.
Latinos.
An
important step in
determining how to fix
our nation’s economy is
not in regaining
consumers’ trust in the
marketplace, but in
establishing trust in
the nation’s
increasingly diverse
consumers, taxpayers and
voters. This focus was
not lost on those who
helped elect Barack
Obama to our nation’s
highest office.
His victory is
reflective of how
inclusion can help solve
the most improbable
challenges. The diverse
citizenry of our nation
has proven that the
difficult can be done
right away, that the
impossible may take a
little longer, and we
realize that by working
together, ˇSi se puede!
Ignacio Salazar has been
elected Chairman of the
Hispanic Association on
Corporate Responsibility
(HACR) Board of
Directors.
By
Ignacio Salazar,
Chairman, HACR |
