While Latinos are breaking barriers in government - President-elect has picked several Hispanics for his cabinet — the corporate world remains a challenge. 

“Hispanics hold on average less than 1 seat on corporate boards,” among the 70 companies that participated in HACR’S annual Corporate Inclusion Index (CII).

A total of 94 corporations were invited to participate in HACR’s 2020 survey. Of the 70 companies that submitted information, 39 were Fortune 100, 48 had participated before and 22 companies were taking part for the first time.

The companies represented commercial banks, diversified financials, financial data services (23 percent); food & drug store, food consumer products, food production & food services (7 percent); telecommunications (7 percent); pharmaceuticals (6 percent); health care: insurance & managed care (4 percent); hotels, casinos, resorts (4 percent).

The goal of the CII is to answer the question: “What makes a company good for Hispanics.”

The data collected “provides a “snapshot” of Corporate America’s Hispanic inclusion efforts” in four key areas or pillars: employment, procurement, philanthropy, and governance.

“We are still finding that Hispanic representation among board members (7 percent),

executives (4 percent), and exempt employees (8 percent) have all been slightly decreasing over the years.”

Some good news: This year, 67 percent of companies reported having both diversity goals and metrics as part of their executive review process. In addition, 86 percent of participants reported having a formalized mentorship program while 71 percent reported having measurable goals and/or metrics for these programs.

The HACR index report stressed the importance of role models and the need for support networks in corporations.“Using these networks, new and up-and-coming talent can access the mentorship of experienced leaders who have overcome challenges in order to meet organizational goals.” 

HACR gives the companies star ratings of up to 5 stars in each of the four pillars. Here are some highlighted findings in each area plus the companies that earned five stars:

The average percentage of Hispanic hires has not changed since 2018.

Hispanics represented 15 percent of all employees, down from 18 percent n the 2019 report.

In February, employees from diverse and underrepresented communities represented 37 percent of the labor force, yet by March 2020 they accounted for 58 percent of the newly unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

No. of 5-star companies: 36

AT&T; ADP; Bank of America; BMO Harris Bank; Boston Scientific; Chevron; Cigna; Comcast NBCUniversal; Ecolab Inc.; General Motors; Gilead Sciences, Inc; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; The Hartford; Humana; Intel; Johnson & Johnson; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; KPMG LLP; Medtronic, Plc; MetLife, Inc; Molson Coors Beverage Company; Morgan Stanley; Nielsen; PepsiCo; Procter & Gamble; Prudential Financial; Raytheon Technologies; Sodexo; State Farm; Target; Toyota Motor North America; Visa Inc.; Walmart Inc.; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo & Company; Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

On average, less than one percent (.83%) of suppliers are Hispanic.

This year, 79 percent of participants reported having supplier development initiatives inclusive of Hispanics. 

There are, however, signs of change: 91 percent of companies reported having a strategic plan for supplier diversity that is reviewed regularly.

No. of 5-star companies: 16

Anthem; AT&T; Comcast NBCUniversal; Edison International; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Humana; Intel; Medtronic, Plc; Nielsen; Sodexo; Toyota Motor North America; Walmart Inc.; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo & Company; Wyndham Destinations Inc.

A majority of 2020 participants have a strategic plan for their corporate giving initiatives.

For 96 percent of participants, volunteer efforts are supported by management, an important element in establishing legitimacy among participants and gatekeepers. 

Total donated to organizations working in the Hispanic community: $9,828,809

Total donated to Hispanic-led organizations: $4,042,266

Total volunteer hours in the Hispanic community: 538,096

No. of 5-star companies: 8

AT&T; ADP; Cisco; Citi; Comcast NBCUniversal; Ford Motor Company; Humana; Verizon.

The average representation of Hispanics on corporate boards is 7 percent; just

slightly down from the 8 percent reported in the 2019 HACR CII Report.

Given that the average board size is about 12 board members. A 7 percent representation average means that Hispanics hold just .84 board seats on the average-sized board. 

This translates to even fewer seats among Latinas as they only hold an average of 2 percent of all board seats.

Among corporate executives, Hispanics represent four percent with Latinas representing a little over a quarter of that share at 1.21 percent. 

Tee good news: 87 percent of this year’s participants reported requiring recruiters to present diverse slates for open executive and/or board positions.

No. of 5-star companies: 28

Bank of America; BMO Harris Bank; BP; Chevron; Cigna; Comcast NBCUniversal; Comerica Bank; Ecolab Inc.; Edison International; HP Inc.; HSBC; Intel; Johnson & Johnson; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Marriott International, Inc.; MetLife, Inc.; Nielsen; PepsiCo; Pfizer; Procter & Gamble; Raytheon Technologies; Sodexo; Target; US Tennis Association; Visa Inc.; Walmart Inc.; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo & Company.