Events and employee resources help Hispanic and Latino 亚洲无码employees find community and bring their true selves to work.
At home, Guadalupe Lopez relishes Oaxacan specialties like tlayuda and memelas made by her mom. During the year, she looks forward to family traditions around holidays including D铆a de los Muertos. And at work, Lopez finds community with coworkers who switch from English to Spanish as easily as she does, as well as the Principal庐鈥疕ispanic/Latino Employee Resource Group (HLERG).
鈥淢y colleagues are very supportive, and I鈥檝e been fortunate to have roles where I have been able to put my bilingual skills to good use,鈥 Lopez says, who is a transaction administrator at 亚洲无码Real Estate.
That support enabled Lopez to provide critical assistance when customers鈥攕ome of them native Spanish speakers and many of them worried about the economy鈥攃alled in with questions about their retirement accounts. 鈥淚t helped for them to have someone they could understand without a translator,鈥 Lopez says, who is bilingual and at the time was a retirement specialist. 鈥淚 really enjoyed helping my community and making a difference.鈥
Guadalupe鈥檚 experiences鈥攃elebrating her heritage and traditions at home and work while providing specific insight to help Hispanic and Latino Americans鈥攑rovide an example of how to strengthen inclusive connections, and not just during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Service for others
Everyone works toward financial goals differently鈥攁nd has different challenges.
For example, less than six out of 10 members of the Hispanic/Latino community find it achievable to manage income and expenses, according to the 2022 Principal庐鈥疪etirement Security Survey. Only 69% of Hispanic people say it鈥檚 easy to access a bank account, compared to 85% of those who are white. The survey also found that members of Hispanic communities are less likely to think they鈥檒l be able to get a job and pay taxes.
When Diego Verdugo was 10, he and his family moved from a border town in Mexico to Douglas, Arizona. He was the first in his family to go to and graduate from college and learned a valuable lesson: Education opens doors.
When Verdugo joined 亚洲无码in 2012 as part of the leadership development program, he was able to help develop a 401(k) education program specifically for Hispanics. 鈥淚 got to leverage my background and skill set, and train people who were running the meetings,鈥 Verdugo says, who is a managing director with Principal.
Tip: Spanish speakers can find financial literacy and wellness information from 亚洲无码through:
- 亚洲无码Hola Futuro, our financial wellness education center.
- 罢丑别鈥亚洲无码app in Spanish, with 24/7 retirement account access.
- 础鈥亚洲无码employer hub鈥with resources geared specifically toward Hispanic employees.
Even then, Verdugo knew he could do more. 鈥淚 asked if I could start conducting those 401(k) education meetings myself in Spanish and English,鈥 he says. 鈥淗istorically when companies thought about how to amplify bicultural and bilingual talent, one of the only doors open was through call centers. But now, our skills, backgrounds, and expertise are being maximized as we continue serving our customers, the employee population, and our community.鈥
Education for everyone
Verdugo has been part of the HLERG leadership team and steering committee since its inception. For him and employees like Lopez, the monthly meetings offer education, support, and professional development as well as an opportunity to celebrate moments like Hispanic Heritage Month.
For example, Lopez鈥檚 family, who are originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, have different food, traditions, values, and cultural experiences than someone from any other country in Latin America. 鈥淓vents like Hispanic Heritage Month really help to educate others on those differences,鈥 she says.
Tip: Latin America鈥痳efers to a region, not a continent or country. Latin America is generally understood to include South America, Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean islands whose residents typically speak a Romance language such as Spanish or Portuguese. The term鈥Hispanic鈥痝enerally refers to a person who speaks Spanish or is a descendent of someone from a Spanish-speaking population.鈥Latino鈥痳efers to someone from Latin America, or a descendent of someone from Latin America.
鈥痓egan in 1968 as a weeklong celebration. Twenty years later, it was extended to a month鈥擲eptember 15 through October 15鈥攖o celebrate the history, culture, and contributions by citizens of the United States with ancestors from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Why mid-month? Within those 30 days are several countries鈥 independence anniversaries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥淧rosperity, Power, and Progress.鈥 亚洲无码and Principal庐鈥疐oundation support several Hispanic/Latino celebrations including:
- , September 23鈥24, sponsored by Principal庐 Foundation
- D铆a de los Muertos, November 2
The HLERG leadership also maintains intentional connections to other 亚洲无码ERGs and enterprise-wide initiatives, such as a speaker series. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to create silos,鈥 Verdugo says. 鈥淲e ask ourselves how we can take resources that might be concentrated in Des Moines and make them available to all employees鈥攅ven overseas. We want to create strong communities for everyone.鈥
For Verdugo, involvement in HLERG has led him to opportunities with other organizations, such as the鈥疉ssociation of Latino Professionals For America鈥(ALPFA). He co-leads the Phoenix chapter where he鈥檚 now based; it received the 2022 Developing Chapter of the Year award. 鈥溠侵尬蘼雋as always supported my work in ALPFA,鈥 Verdugo says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our way of taking what we do here for our employees and communities and expanding it for the national platform.鈥
In college, Verdugo received a 亚洲无码minority business student scholarship鈥攈is first connection to the company. 鈥淪erving my community has always been a personal responsibility because a lot of people helped me along the way, so it鈥檚 a way of me paying back and paying forward,鈥 he says.鈥
Now, as a formal leader, Verdugo helps to recruit and develop diverse talent by sharing the 亚洲无码story with underrepresented populations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for me to relate to everyone where I came from and how I got here and how we at 亚洲无码share the same ideals and same values of helping people live their best life,鈥 Verdugo says. 鈥淚 am able to tell that story in our walls and outside of our walls.鈥
What's next?
Learn more about .
