SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In an industry first, Hispanicize Media Group (HMG) announced today that it has launched the Hispanicize Silicon Valley Rankings, the first ever company ratings of Latino diversity in Silicon Valley.
The annual score card will be unveiled Oct. 3 and 4 at Hispanicize L.A., the Hispanic Heritage Month edition of the event that will focus on diversity tech and innovation, digital content creation and the entertainment industry.
“Our rankings will put Latinos high on the diversity agenda of Silicon Valley so there is real accountability and progress made for our community,” said Manny Ruiz, founder of HMG. “This industry report will be a catalyst for immediate progress by being collaborative vs. antagonistic with Silicon Valley companies and by also looking at these companies’ Latino diversity efforts in a way that is holistic rather than just solely focused on workforce diversity.”
The Hispanicize Silicon Valley Rankings are being compiled by a diverse blue ribbon panel of entrepreneurs, academics, marketing professionals, non profit organization leaders and journalists, as well as leaders from the Latino Start Up Alliance and Cal State Fullerton. Hispanicize 2018 co-chair Claudia Gonzalez Romo, a rising national Latina leader who this week received the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Multicultural Leadership Award, will spearhead the research.
Said Gonzalez Romo: “Including Latinos as core to the Silicon Valley story will have very strong and positive implications for America in general. First, with the majority of the nation’s population growth being fueled by Latinos, the country stands to become stronger and more competitive. Also, Latinos currently fill a large percentage of the jobs that might be displaced and disrupted by Silicon Valley so it is important to address this now. Third, when a company’s workforce is diverse, it is more innovative, creative and impactful.”
The Hispanicize tech rankings will look at a wide spectrum of Silicon Valley players ranging from Google to Apple and many unicorns in between. The blue ribbon panel will compile its list of the Top 50 companies and the Top 5 corporations will be formally awarded in Los Angeles., which is symbolically located in the so-called front yard of the Hispanic market with the largest Latino population in the nation but is also the back yard of Silicon Valley.
The Hispanicize report card will measure all the efforts companies are making to integrate Latinos into fabric of Silicon Valley in a holistic fashion that includes:
- Workforce Diversity
- Retention and Recruitment
- Marketing Investment
- Community Outreach
- STEM Efforts
- Supplier Diversity
- Diversity Representation in the Board Room
Proprietary Big Data Research Method Will Also Be Used
As part of the research, Hispanicize Media Group will also partner with Culturintel™ to provide the ranking panel with a first of its kind method using Big Data and artificial intelligence tools to measure U.S. Latino sentiment about Silicon Valley companies.
Cofounded by Cultural intelligence™ expert Lili Gil Valletta, CulturIntel’s award-winning method has been validated and published by Harvard University and has been featured in numerous publications as a novel method to mine cross cultural insights. CulturIntel will scrape and mine Latino digital discussions taking place everywhere in destinations such as topical sites, forums, career sites, among other social destinations to draw insights from the unbiased voice of the consumers.
The ranked companies will be offered an opportunity to access a personalized report card tailored to their organization to further uncover drivers, barriers and make actionable decisions towards inclusion. This marks the first-time a big data method will be used in this capacity as an input to generate a comprehensive category norm and Hispanic ranking without the researcher bias of traditional research methods.
“It is estimated that by 2020 Hispanics will contribute to 74% of labor force growth yet they remain in single digits across most Silicon Valley companies,” says Liliana Gil Valletta, cofounder and CEO of CIEN+ and CulturIntel, a cultural innovation company partnering in this effort. “We believe measurement transcends personal bias and we look forward to empowering decision makers with the power of data to realize that inclusion is not an altruistic but a critical lever for innovation and growth.”
Hispanicize L.A will Offer Diversity Solutions
In addition to the awards and in the spirit of offering solutions for Silicon Valley, Hispanicize L.A. will facilitate a strong agenda that will provide tech diversity officers with the tools and all day trainings they need to meaningfully improve their companies’ Latino diversity efforts.
Presented in part by Prudential Financial, the Hispanicize L.A. event will feature a sophisticated but practical agenda that will include case studies, discussions, and keynotes that are sure to empower tech diversity and inclusion officers.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsorship information for Hispanicize Hispanicize L.A. is available by contacting sponsorship@hispanicizeevent.com or calling 203.364.4779.
Media partners include: SBS/LaMusica, LatinaMoms.com, Popful, Hispanic Kitchen, Hispanic PR Blog; and, the Hispanic Public Relations Association.
About Hispanicize Media Group
Hispanicize Media Group, LLC (HMG) works with leading brands and advertisers to navigate the rapidly evolving, trillion dollar U.S. Hispanic market by offering branded media opportunities, brand integrations, digital marketing campaigns and social influencer management through its online and experiential platforms that include the annual Hispanicize event, DiMe Media, LatinaMoms.com, Hispanic Kitchen and Popful.com. Through a joint venture with Exit 7, HMG also offers original, engaging, culturally relevant content receiving over 12 million monthly unique visitors, a social media audience of 325 million fans and a roster of 1,900+ celebrities, digital influencers and creators.
HMG’s award-winning management team is credited with pioneering the U.S. Hispanic social media industry and creating culturally resonating and engaging content for today’s Latino consumers. HMG is headquartered in Miami with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta.