Dear Friend,
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th – October 15th, it’s important to reflect on what each of our companies and organizations are doing to promote cultural awareness and inclusion of the Hispanic/Latino community.
Across the country, we’re working with many organizations to support their mission to advocate for the Hispanic/Latino community, including National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), National Hispanic Council of State Legislators (NHCSL), UnidosUS, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Latino Coalition, United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), Hispanic Federation, National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, Mexican American Women’s National Association (MANA), and Hispanic Heritage Foundation.
Inclusiveness is built into AT&T’s company culture, and diversity at all levels of our workforce is critical to our success. One way you can engage in these efforts is by getting involved with one of our Employee Resource Groups.
Here’s a message from Edwin Cartagena, the President of the New England chapter of HACEMOS, the AT&T Hispanic/Latino Employee Resource Group.
Hispanic Heritage month is a nationwide celebration that begins on September 15 – October 15 annually. It is important to me because it provides all of us a month long opportunity to unite as a nation to celebrate the many contributions, impact, history, heroes, and culture of Hispanics and Latinos. The role of HACEMOS is to support personal and professional successes of AT&T’s Hispanic employees through mentorship, volunteerism, and philanthropy. It’s important to get involved because the work we do, not only directly impacts the community, but also your personal and professional development as well. I encourage everyone to be intentional about serving a greater purpose in life. At AT&T you have many ways to do just that but one way is joining an ERG and serving the community.
Visit HACEMOS.org to learn about how you can support the group’s efforts or become a member. And to further explore the full list of ERGs, visit this link.
At AT&T, our core value to Stand for Equality has never been more relevant, not only inside AT&T but outside, as well. It is a business imperative to champion equality, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our business. That’s why we recently committed an additional $10 million this year to create economic opportunities and foster upward mobility for underserved communities who face long-standing social inequities and higher unemployment, all of which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
I’m proud to work for a company that signed the Hispanic Promise, a first-of-its-kind national pledge to hire, promote, retain and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace. The Hispanic/Latino community makes up 15.9% of AT&T’s workforce in the U.S. and continues to grow, as does their impact on our economy.
As the largest racial or ethnic minority population in the U.S.1, Hispanics contribute significantly to the U.S. economy.
- The GDP produced by the Latino community in the U.S. in 2017 was $2.3 trillion.2
- GDP among the Latino community also grew at a faster rate than the overall U.S. economy in that time.3
- There are 4.7 million Hispanic-owned businesses that, combined, contribute over $700 billion to the American economy every year.4
For decades, AT&T has worked to better serve our Hispanic/Latino customers and communities, and that work continues today as we remain committed more than ever to be a leader in diversity and inclusion.
Stay well,
John
3 Id.
