From the hand of a sincere and entertaining talk between Guillermo Díaz, president of the Hispanic Technology Executive Council (HITEC) and Founder/CEO of Conectado, Lili Gil, CEO of Cien+, a firm recently recognized in the annual Inc.5000 list, and Omar Duque, CEO of HITEC Leaders, the L'ATTITUDE event served as a launching pad for a national campaign inviting young Hispanic-Latinos to transform their role as technology consumers and become technology creators.

"I Dare You to Tech" is the name of this initiative that seeks to recruit the massive Latino talent to fill the vacancies that arise every day in this sector so in need of these skills.

3 year L’ATTITUDE alum @contessabrewer takes the stage leading the conversation about Latinos in Technology with @ggdiazjr, Chairman, Hispanic Technology Executive Council - HITEC and Founder/CEO Conectado, @duque_omar, CEO of @HITECLeaders and @liligil, CEO of @cienplus pic.twitter.com/kcQASnGaHZ

— L'ATTITUDE (@LATTITUDEevent) September 22, 2022

A Step Towards Creation

"Not only are we incredible consumers, but we are moving towards creation," said Díaz, alluding to the innate abilities of young Hispanics, who, beyond having specific academic insights, have particular skills that make them ideal for building companies and careers in the technological development sector.

Whether as gamers, streamers, or code builders, Hispanic-Latinos are digital consumers by nature, so it's only natural that they are now stepping up to become creators of products like the ones they interact with on a daily basis.

Duque stressed:

We have to let this generation know that there is a place for them at this table.

The Great Gap

However, despite the extraordinary skills, the numbers of Hispanic-Latinos working in technology companies in the U.S. are still very low.

Despite a brief rebound in 2020, triggered especially by the pandemic, the numbers of Latino talent in technology firms have decreased again, a scenario that is not logical if one takes into account that the number of Latino students pursuing these careers is increasing every day.

“There are no coordinated efforts. We must close this gap before it hurts our economy," said Duque, insisting that the academy should offer more opportunities to interact with companies, while addressing the cultural barriers that are hindering the business and economic development that the Latino communities could achieve by taking advantage of the current technological situation.

Exposition

But this is not an exclusive responsibility of the companies, but also of the lack of promotion within the same community.

Speakers especially highlighted how the lack of exposure becomes one of the worst enemies of Latino talent when it comes to climbing positions, underlining that leadership events like L'ATTITUDE are important precisely because they offer the possibility of expanding professional networks and invite to celebrate and give exposure to the achievements of the community and the doors that they have managed to open with so much effort.

Finally, they announced the creation of a coalition dedicated especially to providing the high-tech industry with the best of Latino talent, an alliance that will not only promote diverse professional advancement, but will also offer cultural and inclusion tools to facilitate the process of adaptation to these new workspaces.

Key Facts

• $40 an hour is the average salary for a technology employee.
• Only 3% of workers in Silicon Valley are Hispanic, despite the large number of people who study there.
• 55% of Gen Z Latinos admire the tech environment.
• 55% say that self-confidence is the reason for not pursuing these careers.
• As of August of this year, a negative 44% was shown in access to tech jobs among Hispanics.