7 Ideas To Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month And Reduce Cultural Barriers
Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15 by celebrating the contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to also recognize the challenges of confronting the cultural shock and language barriers, especially in Corporate America, and help them overcome some of the most common issues they face at work?
Many companies take the opportunity to organize Hispanic themed events, offering games, regional food, Latin dance and even watching movies like Encanto and Coco.
Most organizations have intensified these events even working remotely, with zoom happy hours and live cooking sessions. With ancestors coming from so many different regions, a typical celebration may vary if organized by a Mexican, a Spanish, or an Argentinian, or by someone that is not Hispanic at all.
Still, some topics or challenges are never addressed in these events. As a coach, I continuously see Hispanics, both men, and women, but especially women, fighting to get a fair salary and role that matches their experience, overworking to prove their value, and dealing with imposter syndrome and pet to threat issues. Some employees, for instance, are recognized just because they can translate from English to Spanish instead of being seen as lawyers or consultants. Others are always given admin or tedious repetitive tasks instead of promotions and challenging activities just because their English is not native.
Overcoming cultural barriers
Some things that can be done to reduce the culture gap are:
1) Organizing an ERG or Hispanic group within the company helps them connect with others who speak the same language, and even get access to mentors that can help them in career-building in Spanish.
2) Providing one-on-one coaching sessions from expert coaches to help learn cultural gaps, overcome lack of self-confidence and imposter syndrome, or simply to provide support when needed, both in English and Spanish. While some have a native accent, they may still prefer to have coaching in Spanish to be able to express their feelings and thoughts more accurately. Affirmation cards are also great and inexpensive gift to help them have an optimistic outlook when they struggle.
3) Offering courses on unconscious bias to non-Hispanics to recognize their struggles and avoid unintentional microaggressions.
4) Providing mentoring on specific behaviors like how to ask for what they need in terms of salary or career and advocate for themselves; many Latinos tend to feel awkward speaking about themselves and showcasing successes.
5) Providing mentoring on how to write emails and present ideas directly and concisely. Especially those who were not raised in the US find it hard to get used to the American way of going straight to the point in a conversation and spend more time providing context, which may not be appreciated in some business environments.
6) Helping identify dynamics in certain teams or departments such as pet to threat, and microaggressions, including gaslighting, exclusion, and sabotage. Polls and pulse surveys can be used to anonymously alert of these behaviors.
7) Allowing Hispanics to share ideas or different ways of working more intentionally. Some Hispanic tend to be too respectful and quiet, others simply don’t want to be exposed to any language barriers, and avoid asking questions or offering advice that could be useful, especially in matters of safety. Having someone bilingual onsite, offering different means to provide ideas, or even talking about the importance of everyone’s contributions could help raise their voice.
Cultivating mentors to help navigate organizational culture, coaches to overcome self-imposed barriers, and sponsors to advocate for promotions and career-building opportunities are great ways to start helping Hispanics show their talent, be treated fairly for their contributions and uplift their confidence.