Attitudes about Hispanic inclusion have changed throughout the years. Companies are now open to supporting Hispanic diversity and inclusion as a concept, yet they have also been slow to provide diversity and inclusion efforts and stakeholders with the support they need to successfully increase Hispanic representation. For this reason, HACR has chosen “Harnessing Support Networks” as the theme of the 2020 HACR Corporate Inclusion Index (CII) Report, just released yesterday. Read more to find out how support networks help diverse stakeholders understand current systems and identify immediate opportunities for improvement and change.
Support networks can be valuable tools in helping organizations retain and realize the potential of their talent and opportunities while also becoming more attractive to prospective employees, suppliers, communities, and leaders. The country is becoming more diverse with Hispanics making up 18.5 percent of the U.S. population[1] and over 18 percent of the workforce[2]. Companies that are best prepared to be inclusive will be positioned to reap the benefits of Hispanic talent, suppliers, communities, and leadership in their business. To get there, companies must build close partnerships with leaders and allies in order to provide support and socialization throughout their enterprise. These support networks also allow diverse stakeholders to more effectively understand current systems and identify opportunities for improvement. Here are some of the ways the 2020 HACR Corporate Inclusion Index (CII) revealed how support networks affect practices and outcomes in our four pillars (employment, procurement, philanthropy, and governance):
EMPLOYMENT
In employment, both current and potential Hispanic employees benefit tremendously from formal support programs such as mentorship, sponsorship, and internship programs. These programs serve to support the development and advancement of Hispanic talent at companies from entry level positions through senior level management.
PROCUREMENT
In procurement we found that companies are improving their efforts to intentionally spend with Hispanic suppliers. We also found that increased Hispanic representation among suppliers still requires an investment in building tracking capabilities that will allow for the identification of where additional support for suppliers are required.
PHILANTHROPY
The 2020 CII survey revealed that philanthropy is continuing its growing transformation from charity to investment. As investors in the Hispanic community, corporations should do more to track the impact of their contributions and bring in the Hispanic community as an integral part of their support network.
GOVERNANCE
Finally, in governance, the demographic composition of an organization’s C-Suite and board of directors are impacted by support networks and by concerted efforts to look outside the “usual” talent networks through the use of such practices as requiring diverse slates for open positions.
Not just in our four pillars, but in all areas, support networks provide historically underrepresented groups with the resources they need to succeed. Download our report to find out which support network resources companies are excelling at and which ones need further development.
You can download the 2020 HACR CII Report by following this link.