Just 1% of C-suite executives are Latinas, while 27.4% of those roles are held by women overall, the report found. They also face a persistent pay gap that leads to $1.2 million in average missed earnings over a lifetime, the report calculates, and a wider falloff in representation between entry-level roles and the C-suite than any other ethnic group. Then there’s the challenges they face while climbing the ranks themselves, the report describes from interviews with Latina executives, from being the “only” in a room to receiving the fewest promotions in spite of having the most interest in reaching them, the report finds.
“It has nothing to do with Latinas’ capabilities,” says LeanIn CEO Rachel Thomas.
The report also found that Latinas encounter more microaggressions, such as assumptions about their immigration status or language abilities, with 74% of Latinas reporting they had experienced them compared to 58% of women overall.
Assumptions about Latin culture, like valuing having children, can also lead to assumptions about Latinas’ commitment to work. “They’re often seen as more family-focused and less career-focused than other groups of women,” adds Thomas.
The “State of Latinas in Corporate America” report follows almost ten years of research done for the organization’s annual Women in the Workplace study in partnership with McKinsey and Company, Thomas says. “We realized we hadn’t done a deep dive specifically on [their] experiences.”