Report: Latinas face steepest climb up the corporate ladder

State of play: The report from LeanIn.org is based partly on responses from Latinas in various corporate companies between 2019 and 2023.

• It found Latinas start off at a disadvantage in the corporate world — they make up less than 5% of entry-level workers in corporate offices, compared to nearly 43% of women in general and more than 52% of men.
• Although white men increase their representation in the workforce by 64% from entry level to C-suite, Latinas nearly vanish, dropping in representation by 78%.

Zoom in: Per the survey, entry-level Latinas ask for promotions as much as men do — but they're unlikely to get them.

• For every 100 men promoted from entry-level to manager, only 74 Latinas are elevated, so there are fewer Latinas at the management level that can keep moving up.
• The survey found it's also difficult for Latinas to get promoted from director-level roles to vice presidents and they face less workplace flexibility than other women.
• The combination of the barriers to move into management and higher roles "make it nearly impossible for Latinas to gain ground at the highest levels of corporate America," per the report.

What they're saying: Daisy Auger-Domínguez, an author, public speaker and former corporate executive who helped advise the report, says the findings are disheartening but unsurprising.

• In the beginning of her career, Auger-Domínguez says, she was afraid to speak out, often finding herself "in rooms where I know I'm there because I am the one Latina and you have to put me in that room, but they don't want to hear me, they don't want me to say anything."
• Slowly, she became more vocal in meetings and realized it didn't mean she'd lose her job.

• Auger-Domínguez moved up the ranks — she's been a VP at Moody's Corporation and Disney ABC Television Group, among others — but it was "years and years of building that courage muscle because in the early part of my career, it was a lot of gulping it down," she says.

Zoom out: Inclusive in-house leadership programs, deliberate recruitment, hiring and onboarding, mentoring and taking a close look at what it takes for a Latina to succeed are some ways companies can tackle the issue, Auger-Domínguez says.

• The report also suggests companies track key metrics on gender and race, expand recruiting efforts to target more Latinas and address bias in the performance review process.

The bottom line: "Every day I meet incredibly talented Latinas that are hungry, that are wickedly smart, that are passionate about their work, but also talented," Auger-Domínguez says.

• "There are incredibly talented Latinas out there that deserve their seat at the table. And that's what gives me hope."

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