Last month, Carmen Boon, Vice President of Public Affairs for Food Bank For New York City and former NY Chapter Board Member, joined a powerful panel discussion at M Booth's Hispanic Heritage Month event. One thought provoking question raised was, "How do you get around being seen or being selected for jobs and projects because you are the Hispanic/Latino in the room?" Check out Carmen’s response as she sheds light on the reality of tokenism across industries. Follow Carmen Boon to learn more about her work in Comms with social impact, human rights, poverty relief, and economic mobility and to hear her valuable insights! #HPRANY #HispanicPublicRelations #Tokenism #DiverseVoices #RepresentationMatters
VP, Public AffairsI Senior Comms & Social Marketing Strategist IGovernment & Community Partnerships Driver IShorty & PRNews Awards Judge & WinnerI Fulbright Alum & Assoc.Board MemberI Women-Powered Networks Member/Mentor
How do you get around being seen or being selected for jobs and projects because you are the “Hispanic” person in the room? I recently spoke for employees of M Booth and M Booth Health agencies as part of a ERG Hispanic Heritage Month event entitled “Comida y Comunidad” and this is a question I got from an audience member. Tokenism is real in all sectors and this talk gave me an opportunity to shed light on it and more: ? The importance of acknowledging and celebrating cultural diversity, affinity and interest diversity, and strategies for professional enhancement and gathering support from within our communities. ? Establishing your leadership as a cultural and affinity-sensitive communicator beyond the Hispanic market. ? The sharing of deep personal stories as the core of our work, and navigating our career path in the context of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. ? My engagement in strategic communication and public affairs roles, and commitment to developing culturally resonating campaigns. ?The importance of creating meaningful internal interpersonal connections that show on impactful public outreach work. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics reports indicated that only 13.6 percent of PR & Communication specialists identify as Hispanic or Latinx and fewer than half occupy leadership roles. Our goal should be to improve these figures significantly. Sincere thanks to who made this a worthwhile experience: M Booth Founder Margi Booth and CEO Dale Borntein for their warm welcoming during my visit, Ferrisa Connell, Eric Winkfield, Olivia M. Ramirez, MPH, Daniela Doyle and Alma Cats for shaping it as they took on roles as orchestrators, master question makers, comida caterers, presenters, moderators and more! Special mention goes to my Hispanic PR Association (HPRA) friend Erika Sanchez for introducing me to this wonderful group of people who epitomize all the good things said at this gathering.
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