- Start of interview [1:25]
- Esther's "origin story" [1:50]
- Her experience at Occidental College [3:55]
- Her transition from CA to Washington DC [4:36]
- Introduction of the Latino Corporate Director Association (LCDA), founded in 2016 [6:20]
- History of LCDA [7:15] Links with the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility (HACR)
- The Mission of LCDA is to 1) develop, 2) support & 3) increase the number of Latinos on Corporate Boards [8:56]
- LCDA Pillars [9:06]: 1) Increase supply (Latinos hold less than 3% of Fortune 1000 company board seats) 2) Increase demand, 3) Research and Raising Awareness, 4) Engage with Companies.
- The LCDA Board Ready Institute for aspiring directors [12:10]
- LCDA Memberships (115 current members: 2/3s corporate directors, 1/3 aspiring directors):
- Aspiring Directors (executive membership).
- Corporate Directors (as of 2019, Latino directors held 275 board seats in F1000 companies for a total of only 209 individuals)
- CA's Women on Boards Legislation (2018): SB-826 (Gender) [21:16]
- LCDA found that out of 511 seats filled by women on California public company boards since SB 826 was enacted, just 17 (3.3%) are Latina, compared to 77.9% white women.
- CA's Corporate Boards Diversity Legislation (2020) (pending signature): AB-979 (Minorities)
- LCDA found that out of 662 California companies registered on the NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX, 35%, or 233 companies have all white boards of directors.
- LCDA also found that out of these 662 CA companies, only 13% had at least one Latino on their board.
- "What ends up happening is that you're setting up winners and losers: if there is only a focus on gender, Latinos and African-American lose out." [24:50]
- LCDA's Latino Voices for Boardroom Equity Initiative in partnership with leading business and civic leaders [28:41] The Latino Voices initiative asserts that diversity without the inclusion of Latinos is not acceptable:
- Call to triple Latino representation on public company boards by 2023 (currently Latinos hold only 2.2% of Russell 3000 companies per ISS)
- Act to target corporations with no Latino representation (for example, Del Taco, Chipotle and el Pollo Loco)
- Track progress through publication of a quarterly scorecard.
- "If Latinos were a nation, they would be the 8th largest economy in the world, right behind India. IThey are growing at ~5% (similar to India)"
- "Diversity is a business and governance imperative"
- LCDA has a national campaign (starting in CA). They have a Latino Board Tracker. [36:40]
- Her favorite authors: [38:30]
- Maya Angelou (poetry)
- Rodolfo Anaya (history)
- Martin Luther King (struggle)
- Her professional mentors: [40:12]
- Bill Richardson (former Governor of New Mexico, US Ambassador to the UN, Energy Secretary and U.S. Congressman)
- Xavier Becerra (current Attorney General of the State of CA)
- Ed Pastor (former U.S. Congressman for Arizona)
- Her favorite quote: [43:46]
- Bernard Tyson (former Chair and CEO of Kaiser Permanente): "When Corporate America lets us Into the room, our contributions are going to be massive when we're given a shot and a chance."
Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License