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LS50:
Latina Executives: Rising to the Top
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With nearly 205,000 Latinas employed by this year’s
LATINA Style Top 50 Companies alone, the
success of Hispanic women in corporate America is
clearly on the rise. Hispanic women are carrying
prestigious titles behind their names more than ever
before. In fact, 23 of this year’s Top 50 and
Honorable Mention companies have increased the
number of executive-level Latinas since last year’s
survey. Corporate America’s recognition of the
contributions by Latinas is finally taking shape,
and LATINA Style is proud to continue to offer
resources to aid Latinas in finding the company that
best fits their needs. In this issue, we will focus
on the types of programs that might help you as you
rise to the top!
One very successful program among the LATINA
Style Top 50 companies is the fast track program.
Fast track programs vary by company, but they all
are designed to identify employees with high
potential in various divisions of the company. Often
they include a rotational program, offering
promising employees the opportunity to shift from
department to department within the company.
Typically, fast track programs are offered to new
employees entering the work force directly from
their undergraduate or graduate studies.
One LATINA Style 50 Company that stands out
for its exceptional fast track programs is the New
York Life Insurance Company. Among its multiple fast
track programs, New York Life offers the College
Graduate Fast Track Program, which focuses heavily
on recruiting talented college graduates and
exposing them to various aspects of the company over
a four-year period. During that time, the employees
are offered a challenging curriculum and are
assigned to various departments. |
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Another New York Life program, the MBA
Program, focuses on recent graduates from business schools
across the country, providing them with rotational positions
as well. And New York Life’s Job Rotation Program allows
senior managers in each department to identify high-potential
candidates and place those individuals in a job-rotation
program designed to educate them about various aspects of
the company while enhancing their leadership skills.
Some companies go the extra mile and design fast track
programs specifically for women and minorities. The MBA
Program offered by New York Life boasts a minority-employee
enrollment of 50 percent.
While a fast track program is an option for many, corporate
mentoring is also a good avenue to the top. By interacting
with senior level executives, mentees learn first-hand from
the successes and mistakes of their mentors, thus becoming
better-positioned to succeed in high-level positions. In
gaining familiarity with the demands of executives, mentees
benefit by learning valuable lessons in time and employee
management, project development, and ways to communicate
with other senior management.
So how can you translate these opportunities into personal
success? We recommend that you become as involved as
possible. By asking your supervisors about these
opportunities or researching the opportunities your company
offers, you can begin to take advantage of them. Look into
the fast track and mentoring programs available to you, and
continue on your path to the top!
By Gabrielle Lake
[This article has been edited for www.latinastyle.com.
For the full version, check out the 2006 January/February issue of LATINA Style.]
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