Why isn’t there a single woman of Hispanic descent appointed as a CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation today in America?

Those of us who know these singular women firsthand can attest that it is not because they lack what it takes to manage such a complex responsibility.

As a matter of fact, a less reluctant attitude to grant women the formal leadership role, which we know they naturally command in our culture, is one of the advanced developments coming to us from the Hispanic world.

We can easily find examples, from Ana Botín, Executive Chairwoman & prior CEO of one of the largest financial institutions in the world based in Spain (Banco Santander), to Paula Santilli, CEO of one of our largest multinationals in Latin America (Pepsico).

Despite the imperfections of the politics south of the border, it is in Latin America where we have seen more than a dozen women entrusted with the maximum political responsibility, as president of their own country— all the while here in the U.S. we are still years behind seeing finally a female figure elected to lead from the White House.

Women, particularly multicultural women, don’t lack the merits: Why are we so slow, then, in the most advanced society on Earth, at bringing the unique feminine talents to the top position of responsibility?

Only 37 women are at the helm of the Fortune 500s, but only 3 of them are African American and 0 (ZERO) are American women of Latino descent.

I had the recent privilege to talk with three of them who have already proven Latinas are great CEO material, building careers from scratch as daughters of courageous immigrant parents, making it all the way to the top of respected organizations in the U.S.: Nina Vaca, CEO of her own multimillion-dollar company, PINNACLE Group; Carolina DeGiorgio, CEO of one of the top nonprofits in the country, CONGRESO; and Esther Aguilera, CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association, LCDA.

After the enlightening conversation with these 3 stars, I was left with an emboldened conviction that our women definitely don’t lack the merits— just the validation of an unfairly delayed public recognition.

That is why #ALDIAWomenOfMerit, the program launched by AL DÍA News Media in 2021, is determined now to make its own contribution, through an AL DÍA Annual Edition devoted to our women, and the #ALDIALive recognition event, so that this #WomenHistoryMonth celebration in the U.S. is a lot more complete and meaningful, reflecting more accurately the changing demographics of our nation.

The first step for America to take advantage of the immense potential for leadership Latinas and Multicultural women have to offer to their country.