From Immigrants to Corporate Leaders: 2 Latinx Women Share Their Journey to the Top
7 tips on how to turn personal experiences into success in the workplace
There are not many women of color who can say they hold a senior leadership role in their jobs. The higher up the corporate ladder, the fewer women you will see occupying positions, and it’s more limited for women of color. According to Catalyst’s Women in Management research, 10.8% of women of color held management positions compared to 32.3% of White women in 2019.
But Laura Silva and Gloria Jimenez are part of that 10% and they’re hoping to make space for more. At 27 years old, Silva is the vice president of accessibility technology UX design lead at Bank of America. Silva identifies as Afro Latina and moved to the United States with her family to seek asylum from Colombia at 12.
“I’m a DACA recipient. I am an undocumented immigrant, and that matters a lot,” she told ZORA. “I’m a VP at a bank, and I have to get fingerprinted every two years because immigration asks me for it.”
Meanwhile, Jimenez is the executive director for the Indiana Latino Expo and a multicultural contributor for WISH-TV and Telemundo Indy. Born in Lima, Peru, she moved to Indianapolis when she was 17 years old with her family to have a…
