'You Can't Have Representation for Representation's Sake.'

Paramount employees celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by discussing the importance of authenticity in entertainment.?

In Proud To Be, we highlight Paramount employees and their personal histories. In this installment, we spoke to members of the company's Hispanic employee resource group, SOMOS, about the importance of showing up as your authentic self.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we spoke with some of our Latinx and Hispanic employees to learn how their experiences influence their work.?

Raquel T. , Geiddy Mu?oz , and Marcus Mills shared about their families and cultures, as well as the importance of workplace communities as a way to foster inclusion.

On living your truth…

Geiddy Mu?oz, Manager, Integrated Marketing and Brand Partnerships, CBS News and Stations: I'm a very proud Latina from the Bronx. And, I think that my?Latinidad?enters the room before I do, and I love that. I’m loud and I’m proud about my Dominican culture and Bronx heritage. I can't enter a room and not be my authentic self.

Raquel Tadeo, Executive Assistant II, Creative Content, Paramount Pictures: My Mexican-American identity isn’t something I'm shy about, even though it wasn’t always that way. As a child growing up in predominantly white spaces, there was always pressure to assimilate and try to fit in with everyone else. I've now grown past that, and I am very happy and proud to identify as Chicana.??

Marcus Mills, Franchise Marketing Manager, Paramount: I call the metro NYC area home now, but I grew up in Miami where I sometimes felt like I was a big fish in a small pond. Everyone knows everyone in Miami. Perfect example: If I come home from a flight and I go to a gas station, a friend’s uncle's tía will see me, and by the time I go back to my car I’ll have 15 texts from different family and friends asking why they haven’t seen me yet. But Miami is where my dad, who’s from Maryland, and my mom, who’s from Guatemala, fell in love and built a life together so it will always have a special place in my heart. I bring the culture of it in everything I do!

“I’m loud and I’m proud about my Dominican culture and Bronx heritage. I can't enter a room and not be my authentic self.”

Tadeo: My parents pursued their dream of raising a family in the U.S., seeking a better life for themselves and their children. Their tenacity is something that carries over seamlessly into my work and my ambitions.

Mills: ?My mom really instilled a strong work ethic in me. She fled Guatemala in the middle of a civil war and basically had to start life all over again with her parents—my grandparents. So, with everything I do, I keep them in mind with every decision I make.

On the importance of fostering community…

Mu?oz: Our company’s Hispanic and Latinx employee resource group, SOMOS, has been a huge blessing because it’s a community??of people who keep you pushing forward in pursuit of?career?goals.?And together with the Office of Global Inclusion (OGI,) you truly feel the culture be authentically be celebrated.?I originally started out at legacy CBS, where we had a centralized diversity team. But to now have a space like SOMOS that’s focused specifically on our community is an opportunity to lean into our uniqueness.

Mills: Working for a company like Paramount is exciting because you see yourself and your experiences reflected in the work you do. We all contribute to creating content, products and experiences people enjoy across the world. It’s some of the most diverse content out there created by one of the most diverse companies in the industry.

Mu?oz: You can't have representation for representation's sake. It’s disingenuous, and audiences aren't dumb. They know tokenism when they see it. I'm really enjoying CBS’ Ghosts, for example, where you have different characters of different backgrounds represented, but it’s woven in very naturally.?

Tadeo: I like to keep up with directors and actors who recognize that meaningful representation, both on-screen and off, is necessary to tell authentic stories. And streaming seems to have allowed for more opportunities for talented creators of all backgrounds. I believe diverse voices should be broadcasted across the board: on streaming services, in theaters, and everywhere around the world.??

“Working for a company like Paramount is exciting because you see yourself and your experiences reflected in the work you do.”

Mills: There’s a shift happening in our society, and it's about time. I think that what sets our company apart is that DE&I is a fundamental part of our business at Paramount. It's something that the whole company has to work toward because it’s a larger directive. It’s hard to believe I started as an intern 12 years ago in the Latin American brand space at MTV Networks Miami. Since then, my roles have grown inside and out of the company: working in international programming, working for commercial agencies, working at Nickelodeon, in the education space, and more recently for a big e-comm retailer managing people and app tech.

On looking back to move forward…

Mu?oz: I always wanted to be in content creation and my ultimate dream is being a showrunner, following in the footsteps of Shonda Rhimes. My parents are very passionate people, the type who fought and continue to fight for their dreams. I plan to do the same.

Tadeo: Those traits of optimism, ambition, and determination that I learned from my family are ingrained in my identity.

Mills: I’m now approaching my first year of being back, and I love to see how diverse our company is continuing to grow. It’s the people and culture that bring me back again and again. There’s a unified approach to making people feel welcome, like their opinions matter, and who they are matters.

Tadeo: I’m excited to contribute to the realm of entertainment: to use my voice and my skills in any way that I can to represent and elevate my community.