Mobilizing Diversity as a Resource to Your Company w/ Yai Vargas
Episode Summary: Listen in on this conversation between Bethaney and Yai Vargas! Yai Vargas is a multicultural marketing and communications expert, as well as the founder of The Latinistas. In this conversation, Bethaney and Yai talk about marketing, about employee resource groups, and about supporting women in their careers.
As a leading multicultural marketing expert with a niche in building marketing strategies and community engagement programs, Yai spearheads opportunities for Fortune 100 corporations seeking to develop connections with focused communities.
She is passionate about sharing her industry knowledge, as a public speaker, on various topics such as executive presence, personal branding, LinkedIn and Latina leaders in the workplace. Yai’s extensive corporate and agency experience in diversity, public relations and multicultural communications have allowed her to add tremendous value to the automotive, sports, non-profit, health and financial services sectors.
Transcript
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
diversity, organizations, people, employee resource groups, erg, groups, creating, community, multicultural, employees, roles, developing, women, hispanic heritage month, latin, learn, caucasian, hear, experience, tapping
SPEAKERS
Bethaney Wilkinson, Yai Vargas
Bethaney Wilkinson 00:00
Hey friends glad you are here listening to another episode of The Diversity Gap podcast. For today's conversation we get to learn from Yai Vargas. Yai is a specialist and multicultural marketing. And she's also the founder of The Latinistas, I was connected to her through my friend and founder of Vamos Ladies Pamela Barba. And I love following Yai and her work ever since she is not only brilliant, and an incredibly engaging communicator, but I love how she combines her community building work with her corporate experience to support communities that want to change. And so in this conversation, we talk about employee resource groups about the Latinistas and supporting women in their careers. We talk about some really practical and accessible strategies that even small companies and small majority culture companies, things that you can do in order to begin shifting your culture today. And so there are so many practical nuggets in this conversation. Listen closely and take notes. Welcome to The Diversity Gap podcast where we are exploring the gap between good intentions and good impact as it relates to diversity, equity and inclusion. My name is Bethaney Wilkinson and I am your host. When did you first become aware of your race or ethnic identity?
Yai Vargas 01:31
Well, I think I'd have to say, probably when I was in high school, I went to a predominantly white school and was probably one of only five Latinas in my entire class or grade. And I was always asked to translate documents from my parents, and I'm sure other students who were in similar situation, who were also in ESL, English as a second language, they can relate to the type of translation services that we were offering when we were just young. So I think that's probably when I realized that I had a different set of characteristics and offerings.
Bethaney Wilkinson 02:13
What is it been like for you to grow in your identity awareness as you emerged in your career, and, and even up to the work that you do now that you're going to get into in a second?
Yai Vargas 02:26
Yeah, it was interesting. When I was graduating college, my career counselor asked me, where I wanted to work where I wanted to land an internship. And then he asked me what was going to separate me from the rest of my colleagues or classmates that now have the same degree, or the same experience or background and have learned similar work, I went to school for advertising and marketing communications. And I thought long and hard and was able to realize that I was probably one of the only ones that spoke Spanish in my grade there in college. And so I started to use that as a differentiator when I was applying for jobs right out of college. And lo and behold, every single job that I held for the last 15 years in corporate America had to do with me being able to speak Spanish, and eventually becoming a subject matter expert, or being very knowledgeable when it came to Spanish and Portuguese speaking individuals that lived here in the US. So I certainly use that to my advantage. And it's carried me quite some way.
Bethaney Wilkinson 03:40
That's so that's so good. It's I think it's really important for people to hear how the things that set you apart or make you different, or are a lot of the time, things that you can use to not like just get ahead, but their gifts that you have to offer the world and they and their unique perspectives and resources that you get to bring to bear and whatever you're doing. And so it's really affirming to hear how you process that.
Yai Vargas 04:05
Absolutely. And it gives you the opportunity to create two different sets of potential clients. So it's really it's really a blessing to be able to still hold that.
Bethaney Wilkinson 04:17
Oh, yeah, say more about that.
Yai Vargas 04:19
Yeah, well, a lot of times when I do the work that I do, it's typically for multicultural groups, talent acquisition, specifically based around people who are either Hispanic Latinos Latin X, that have grown up with the experience of either being immigrants to this country or having parents that are immigrants to this country. And so I always pitch my products and my services for the general population because it is professional development at large, but always with the nuance of having the experience and the culture and the background of upbringing of a Latina of an immigrant of a Spanish speaker? Because it's actually something that corporations have brought up to me, they're like, well, Jay, you're selling professional development, we already have a very large talent development team here at XYZ company. Why would you be selling the services that we already pay someone over $150,000 to do full time here? And I've always been able to pivot and say, Well, I'm I can probably bet or assume the individuals that you have in these roles, don't have the same upbringing experience or immigration story that I share with a really good amount of your employees. Most of the time, they're like, Yeah, you're right, all of the people in HR probably don't have a similar experience, like you. And so I decided to start pivoting a lot of my programs, and workshops, do take into consideration a lot of the culture and the experience that I grew up with, to help those immigrants and Latinos and Latin X within corporations and saying, I know where you're coming from. And we're not just going to be doing a mentorship program here. It has everything to do with our culture, and our humbleness. And the fact that our mothers just said, Keep your head down, work really hard. And one day, someone will eventually recognize that and maybe give you a salary increase.
Bethaney Wilkinson 06:26
Yeah, you're able to speak directly to the unique challenges that members of Latin X and Latino communities are experiencing in the workplace, which is so it's just it's a huge gift to have someone who is incredibly familiar with your background, be the one helping you figure out what your next steps are. And so I know that your work history has largely been about multicultural marketing and communications. And so I'm curious when you look at corporations, even as an observer, or the ones that you're actually working with, what are they doing well, and the multicultural marketing space? And then what do you think they're doing not so well?
Yai Vargas 07:03
Yeah, so I started in the multicultural marketing space, probably about 15 years ago now. And it's definitely evolved. Some of these organizations are doing really great. They're tapping into their employees and the community to actually be able to develop products and services that actually serve these specific populations. They're developing content in other languages, and taking trends into consideration for the future of work, which is really nice to see. Some organizations actually create focus groups with their already existing employees. So as you can imagine, a lot of these huge corporations spend hundreds of 1000s of dollars paying other focus groups to run projects and ideas across when you can look right inside of your walls and say, Alright, we want to know what Hispanic Americans think about x product, right. And so that's really incredible to be able to leverage the capacity of your current employees that serve your community. So I see a lot of them doing that. And I also see a lot of really great organizations tapping into their employees and saying, Hey, why don't you be the voice of our organization? Within the Latino community? Right? Why would we hire some spokesperson that we have to pay to say things about our organization when they may not even believe in it? You work here, you obviously, like working here? So why don't we work with you in developing content so that we can hire more people that look like you? So that's some of the good things that these organizations are doing? Right. That's great.
Bethaney Wilkinson 08:49
And what are some of the things that you think? And we'll get into some of this later when we talk about diversity gaps in general, but what do you think are some things that people are trying that might not be the most effective or impactful? Mm hmm. Yeah.
Yai Vargas 09:03
I mean, some organizations are still riding the wave, or they're checking those boxes without actually putting money or strategy or talent behind it. You'll see some organizations say that they're, oh, they're celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, by simply just finding one Latina in the organization to feature but then when you ask them the hard questions around, hey, so talk to me about your goals to recruit more Latinos, or people of color? Or what are some of the marketing materials that you've translated in other languages, so that you can actually sell your product to these demographics, you know, then they're like, Oh, well, yeah. It's a journey. We're getting there. It's so challenging. Gosh, it's so expensive, but hey, look at us. We've got a float, you know, during pride month, or hey, look at us. We're doing a feature for Hispanic Heritage Month. We're sending out articles about the Lotus worth there. So some of them do this. very bare minimum, check off those boxes, and then think they're being really effective. Really a challenge when there's honestly so many low hanging fruits that you can do, they're just not invested? Or they're lazy.
Bethaney Wilkinson 10:18
Wow. Well, I mean, even how you open that up like it's, it's a matter of putting in money, strategy and talent, like it's not. It's those are very accessible and clear. Yeah, realities to engage in order to move your company's Diversity and Multicultural programming forward. And, and so I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about er, G's, because I don't think I've talked to anyone explicitly about these on the podcast yet. And honestly, for me, I based on my background in the nonprofit space and the faith space, we talked a lot about affinity spaces. And it wasn't until I got into my research and more traditional diversity and inclusion work that I saw and began to understand this language of employee resource groups. And so would you Can you unpack what is an erg? And why are they important? Why are you passionate about them?
Yai Vargas 11:13
Yeah, absolutely. So I have built and grown employee resource groups for some time. Now, for those of you listening that don't know what an e r g is, it's an employee resource group. Sometimes it's known as a b, r g business resource group. But the difference between those is that A, B, or G is actually tied to the company's bottom line. There's so many organizations that say they have b r G's. And then when you ask them, oh, wow, it's a b, r g. So tell me a little bit about how the employees that are part of this group are helping the company's bottom line. They're like, Oh, yeah, we have like, you know, lunch and learns and webinars, and they can't really tell you how they're helping the company, either recruit, sell, or educate or build products or services. So a lot of them like to say or think their business resource groups, but when you ask them how they're being tied to the company's bottom line, they don't know how to answer that. And so, an employee resource group or BRG is made up of individuals within an organization that have a similar affinity. They may share ethnic, gender or sexual orientation. So you may have a Latin X ERG, African American, LGBT, there's ones for millennials, there's women, Asian, Indian, you name it, there's even one for parents or people that telecommute. Anyone can be part of any of these groups. So when I was building and leveraging ERGs, I was part of the women's I was an ally to the LGBT group, I was part of the African American one, I would go to all the Asian Indian events and programs. Because I felt like for me, it was important to understand what was significant about their experience as professionals, when it came to growing up as an Asian Indian. So I learned so much about other cultures. And the benefit of having these groups is allowing for shared support, or creating a safe space, and more specifically, helping one another develop professionally, by understanding their specific cultural or demographic challenges. And so being a part of the Latin X ERG makes it safe, right, you're around other people that are maybe immigrants of the Latin American countries, or the Caribbean, or Brazil, or Spain. You feel space speaking to them in your language and letting them know, Hey, I'm having a really tough challenge as a professional here in this company, you might be able to sort of resonate what I'm going through. And so yeah, there's so many ways in which er G's are beneficial. I think the most important thing is developing an ally ship, so that you can say, Okay, I'm not of the LGBT community, but I want to be able to advocate for them with the challenges that they may have. And why not me, I want to be able to advocate for anyone. Oh, I love your jeez. Yeah, yeah.
Bethaney Wilkinson 14:37
I'm wondering. So a lot of the people who many of the listeners of this podcast they are part of relatively small organizations anywhere from four to 15 employees, and many of them have maybe one to two underrepresented minorities racially gender with a variety of different identity markers. There are only a couple of people who are are not part of that majority culture. And so I'm wondering, in your experience, and from your point of view, what are some first steps that organizations can begin taking towards? I don't know if it's towards creating an erg, or beginning their diversity? Where are they? How can they engage this if they don't have the critical mass of people to sustain it?
Yai Vargas 15:24
Yeah, that's a great question. I get a lot of my clients reaching out and saying, Hey, we're a small company of 40 individuals, and most of us are Caucasian. We don't have that many people of color. But we do want to be in the conversation when it comes to DNI, what do we do? And so I would say, look into creating a multicultural erg. That includes everyone, you know, everyone in the organization can be a part of this conversation, I think the most important thing is to have a goal for this group, and determine what the problems you know, when it comes to diversity is that we're trying to solve for so are we trying to solve for sales, recruiting, developing a mentorship program program? Is it production design? Is it creating a service for your organization? You know, a lot of organizations say that they don't have diverse employees. But diversity isn't ethnicity, or race or sexual orientation only. Its diversity of age, diversity of disability, diversity of thought, diversity of experience, it's those experiences that you've acquired throughout your lifetime. So it doesn't matter if you're Caucasian, you're diverse in so many different aspects. And the goal is to say, let's pull our brain power together. What is it that we're trying to solve for? And how can we keep a diverse perspective in solving that problem? And along the way, we're going to celebrate Pride Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, and really tap into anyone who wants to do some research, and share with the rest of us why this is important to our country, and our community.
Bethaney Wilkinson 17:14
Oh, man, I've never thought of that before that is so good. And so simple. And I've thought about different parts of that. But the idea of having a group that says, hey, we together are dedicated to this, even before our company reflects the full spectrum of diversity, we hope it will, I think that's incredibly accessible.
Yai Vargas 17:33
You know, and it's so interesting, because a lot of these smaller organizations, they always reach out, and they're like, hey, you know, we're embarrassed to say we have like, no diversity, there's like, 40 of us here. And I don't think we have anyone of color. You know, and this isn't about white shaming. This is about saying, You guys are diverse diversity of thought, diversity of age, diversity of perspective, it's tapping further into the organization that you have, and then peeling the layers of each one of those individuals, you're assuming that you're not diverse. And then all of a sudden, when we start diving into the survey, you're like, Oh, my goodness, I had no idea you were from Argentina, or from Spain, or you're Brazilian, or you identify as Asian, holy cow. We had no idea. We assumed we weren't diverse.
Bethaney Wilkinson 18:24
Wow. Okay. So what would you say to a leadership team that fears that ERGs, or these multicultural groups are a threat or some sort of liability to their overall organization or company?
Yai Vargas 18:39
Yeah, this is this has definitely come up before, I would suggest that they first work with a professional in the DNI space, to learn about the importance of these groups, and understand how they improve your company's bottom line, how it's not just a good thing to do, or the right thing to do. But it's also good for business. And also get clear on the fact that a diverse group of employees working towards a mission improves innovation, which in turn sets you apart from your competitors. Right. And so I actually work with a small advertising agency that says they don't have too much diversity. But when you start thinking about the products and the services that they're delivering to their clients, they start tapping into the demographics of Asian Indians or African Americans or Hispanics or the LGBT community. They start coming up with some really creative ideas that's going to set them apart from their competitors that are just still in general market, just because and so it's really about saying, Yes, this is the good and the right thing to do. But here's why it's actually going to open up a whole new world, for your business than your product. That's what you care about. Right? And you have to tell it right here. They go hand in hand.
Bethaney Wilkinson 19:59
Yeah. I really like this because it it's a, it's refreshing to hear that for most companies and organizations you already have what you need today to get started. And yes, there is a need to invest resources and talent and strategy. But even if it's just a few managers on a team, they can decide to do something right now to begin shipping their culture like it doesn't. It takes it's a journey. But you can start today, you know?
Yai Vargas 20:27
Absolutely. Yeah, I love that you say that? Definitely a journey. And you can start today. I love that.
Bethaney Wilkinson 20:33
Okay, so I'm really excited to talk about the Latin Easter, because when we talked prior to this conversation, we didn't, I was trying to save my, my big questions for this interview. And so I really love that you not only have this robust corporate America experience, but then you're also a social entrepreneur and a founder and a community builder. And so what is the like me? So why did you start this community? What do you do?
Yai Vargas 21:00
Yeah, so the Latin ISA is a national network of Latinas and women of color that I founded about eight years ago, I realized that there were many women in my community and within my network, that didn't have access to the resources that I was receiving. When I was in corporate America, they wanted a professional organization to be able to network with, find a mentor, learn new skills. And so that's exactly what I built every single month. Before COVID. We got together in person, and we did upskilling workshops. And so I would find subject matter experts that would come in and teach us how to develop our professional brand on LinkedIn, how to update their resumes, understand how to negotiate a salary, including their 401k. And understanding what the heck their benefits are. All of these were in person. Now I've got an incredible robust webinar series. And I have chapters in New York, Chicago, Miami, LA, and a Slack community in San Diego. So yeah, it's just a bunch of career driven women who want to learn something new. But they don't want to go back to school.
Bethaney Wilkinson 22:21
Right? Yes. And so what has been, I guess maybe what surprised you on the journey of leading the Latinistas
Yai Vargas 22:29
What surprised me is that so many women that were in my space, we're sort of living the same experience, we'd been in corporate America for 10 or 15 years, we were assumed well paid, you know. But a lot of the individuals that I was surrounding myself with were being stuck in positions that they weren't advocating for. And so when I was having these really difficult conversations, for women that would come into the workshops, to learn something new, I learned that some of them were being grossly underpaid, or they were in a position for 15 or 20 years, and they haven't received a salary increase in like five years. And they just felt defeated, or they didn't understand what their value was, they didn't even understand like, what their skills were, besides the current job they were doing. And so a lot of the work that I do is matching them with, you know, other incredible women that are like, hey, snap out of it, you're incredible. And you need to go apply for a different job, because clearly, they're not valuing you in your current organization. So let's get up, dust yourself off, learn some new skills, and let's go try to interview at some other organizations that are going to give you like 20 $30,000 more, because you deserve it. Because Because 26 year olds coming into the organization right now, or making like $40,000 More than you are, let's go.
Bethaney Wilkinson 23:59
Mmm, Golly, we all need that friend that will tell you dust yourself off, you're gonna go get that new job.
Yai Vargas 24:09
Yes, my goodness. And some people are just so afraid of change, or they're afraid to really start tapping into Oh, my gosh, I haven't interviewed in so many years. I don't even know what my resume should say. How do I network? I can't do another job. I really don't know anything outside of this scope. You know what? With the power of technology these days, you can become a subject matter expert in like three hours. The other day, I was like on YouTube, like, how do I create breakout rooms and zoom and now I'm expert. I'm like, Hey, expert now.
Bethaney Wilkinson 24:48
Oh, that's so good. That's so true. I bet some people need to hear that. That is really that's so important. Um, gosh. So when you step back and look at the world of diversity inclusion, it's just Big community, there's so many different kinds of people addressing this work and all of these different wonderful ways. What really excites you? What are you you're hearing about, we're learning about and you're like, yes, that's the direction we need to be going.
Yai Vargas 25:13
Yeah, let's see, I'm actually looking forward to more creative ways of developing our diverse communities. So taking the power of those ERGs, and demographics, and transforming it into thought leadership, rather than just continuing this sort of silo effect that we have within these groups. And I'm totally for, you know, creating these safe spaces for these like minded individuals. But we're also sort of shooting ourselves in the foot. I mean, imagine creating a space where 200 Women are part of the women's erg. We're sitting there talking about the challenges we have, but the people who have the power to help us fix these challenges. Don't feel welcome in the room, because there's 200 Women in a room, right? And so a man walks in, and he's like, oh, sorry, hey, let me know what you need afterwards, I'll help you out. No, we need all types of people in this room, to be able to help each other, develop, you know, some of the answers to these challenges. And so I'm looking forward to creating more ally ship, creating more integration of these groups, so that we're not just staying within our siloed challenged groups. So I'm really looking forward to deconstructing some of these ERGs funnily enough.
Bethaney Wilkinson 26:42
Yeah. Oh, that's good. That's a good thing. That's something to look forward to for sure. I'm wondering to kind of the other side of that. And this is one of the questions I landed playing with, with everyone I talked to, is when you sit back and look at this work, what are what would you say is the biggest diversity gap you see? And how do we close that gap?
Yai Vargas 27:07
You know, what's so funny? And it's interesting that you ask, we see this a lot, but it's the fact that African American men are usually tapped for Chief Diversity Officer roles, I can probably count on one hand, how many Latinos or Asians or women of color or trans communities hold these roles in the Fortune 100? I would actually love to see diversity within diversity. It sounds funny, but why should we only look to African American men to be assumed for this Chief Diversity Officer role, when it's so much of a broader experience that we're trying to share? I want to see more trans people leave these roles, I want to see more Asian women leave these roles, I want to see more. Just women of color or Latinas lead these roles. Actually, anyone? I've heard many times in the past that Caucasian people shouldn't lead these roles. I I don't agree with that. I think anyone can lead these roles. Because it's about understanding, appreciating and researching the experience. And then having the information and the team and the knowledge to be able to draw out a strategy that includes so many people when calling those shots. I had an incredible manager within my corporate roles, actually, two of them were Caucasian, and they were so much more in tune with different aspects of culture and ethnicity, that I was just like, wow, they have done the work. This is incredible the amount of insight that they have, why shouldn't they take those roles? I think anyone can raise their hand. But society has somewhat taught us to like always happen African American man to be a chief diversity officer. And that's right. Interesting. So I would like to see diversity within diversity.
Bethaney Wilkinson 29:13
Yeah, that's super interesting. I've never noticed that or I think in the in, in the space that I'm in I work with a lot of nonprofits mostly. But I find that a they are often too small to have a chief diversity officer. And then secondly, somehow it ends up becoming the end formal responsibility of the youngest woman of color or black woman on the team. This is a dynamic that I don't think is healthy. But it's what people end up falling back on when they don't believe they have the resources to hire someone in. But again, I really appreciate what you're saying here, which is that anyone who's willing to take the time to educate research, get informed and then disseminate that knowledge can lead for diversity within their company. organization. And so it's really a commitment. It's a commitment to the, to the work and to the learning. It's an it's tied to your identity, but not exclusively.
Yai Vargas 30:09
Absolutely, definitely agree.
Bethaney Wilkinson 30:12
I'm wondering, what are you This is my second last question of what are you learning right now that you're really? I don't know, that's what are you learning right now?
Yai Vargas 30:21
Gosh, I am actually learning that diversity and inclusion is important, but sometimes not a priority and not urgent to some organizations. And I can say that because, you know, the corporate training work that I do, you can see that a lot of these corporate clients have just sort of not prioritize diversity and inclusion in the last two months because of COVID. Of course, they're interested in mental health and wellness, which are also very important. But when you're asking about, hey, what about all those diversity goals you guys had for every month? What happened? It falls into the bucket of Yeah, it's important, and yeah, sure, it's a priority, but it's not urgent. Oh, we're gonna use the funds somewhere else. That's what I'm learning. It's it's kind of disheartening. But I hope that we can catch up and still be committed to our diverse communities and employees that still need so much support even during this time.
Bethaney Wilkinson 31:23
Yeah, wow, that is so good. And so important. And I thank you so much for your time. Where can people follow you keep up with you hire you learn from you, where can the people keep up with your work?
Yai Vargas 31:34
Yes, so I am known as the LinkedIn ninja. So I'd love to connect with all of you on there, you spell my name, Y A I and my last name was Varrgas with a V. And it's where I spend the most of my time on coaching people on how to present themselves for opportunities. So definitely find me on LinkedIn. And my website is yaivargas.com.
Bethaney Wilkinson 31:59
Great, I'll be sure to link to that in the show notes. Thank you so much.
Yai Vargas 32:03
Thank you for having me. And I'm so excited to be able to connect with your community. Thank you all for listening.
Bethaney Wilkinson 32:23
Thank you for listening to The Diversity Gap podcasts. If you've been challenged or inspired by what you've heard, please rate and review the show. You can also subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode. If you have thoughts or questions I'd love to hear from you connect with me at thediversitygap.com or on Instagram @TheDiversityGap. The Diversity Gap podcast is recorded on Muskogee Creek land in Atlanta, Georgia. This episode was produced by Matt Olin for Soul Graffiti Productions.