Congressman Pierluisi speaks to Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility

Congressman Pedro R. Pierluisi
Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility
Corporate Inclusion Index Survey
Press Conference
December 16, 2009

I want to join my colleagues on the Corporate America Task Force in
commending the Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility for
their longstanding efforts to advocate for the inclusion of Hispanics in
corporate America. Hispanics are the largest minority group in the
United States—as well as the fastest growing. Our community should
aspire to be represented in every field and at a level roughly
commensurate with our community’s proportion of the nation’s
population as a whole. I am proud that this Task Force has worked with
organizations such as HACR to make this goal a reality.

The purpose of the Corporate Inclusion Index Survey that HACR is
releasing today is to measure how well—or how poorly—our nation’s
most prominent companies are doing when it comes to reaching out to
Hispanics. Among the factors the survey examines are the number of
Hispanics that these companies are hiring to serve in upper management
positions and on their corporate boards. I am disappointed but not
surprised that the results of the survey indicate that Hispanics still have a
ways to go to be fully included in all aspects of corporate America.

As Hispanics continue to grow as a segment of our nation’s population, we
must emphasize to these companies that including Hispanics in their
business model is not only the right approach but the smart approach. At
the same time, when talking to the Hispanic community, especially our
youth, we must consistently underscore the importance of education and
hard work, so that companies have a broad and deep pool of qualified
Hispanic applicants from which to choose.

Again, I congratulate HACR on the production of this Survey. As we
move into a new year, we must renew our commitment to expand
Hispanic participation in corporate America.