With events planned across the city, New York is gearing up to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Established in 1968 and bracketing the independence days of numerous Central and South American countries, the observance is an opportunity to honor the history and culture of the LatinX and Hispanic communities across the U.S.
It also presents businesses with an opportunity to reflect on their diversity and inclusion, and celebrate the ways in which they are uplifting Hispanic and LatinX voices within the workplace.
For example, Flatiron Health, a local healthtech company, has built an employee resource group — Amig@s Latin@s — to strengthen the connections between LatinX employees and support their professional growth.
“The Amig@s ERG, like all ERGs at Flatiron, focuses on supporting LatinX employees through three main pillars: community, career, and culture,” said Andy Hadjigeorgiou, senior software engineer at Flatiron.
This support includes professional resources like career development and networking opportunities and extends beyond the company doors with company-led partnerships for volunteering and fundraising.
Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off on September 15. The holiday gives organizations and individual employees alike an important opportunity to both celebrate and reflect, showcasing a rich support system and a company culture of inclusion.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, what is Flatiron Health doing this year to celebrate and honor the cultures and contributions of Hispanic and LatinX Americans throughout history?
Amig@s Latin@s, Flatiron’s LatinX employee resource group (ERG), is busy planning this year’s celebration! Last year, Amig@s Latin@s collaborated with our triannual hackathon to host a series of events inviting employees to share stories of their heritage. These “mini-lectures” gave us new perspectives from our Flatiron peers. To round out the hackathon, we invited Damian Vergara Wilson to chat with us about Spanish Language Diversity and Stories of Migration.
This year, the ERG will honor our communities’ cultural and historical contributions through various events. These guest speakers will help us unpack complex topics around “Latinidad,” as well as social opportunities for our LatinX community to connect and share unique experiences.
This year’s events will be focused on creating more opportunities for our community to get to know one another.’’
What other activities or charitable initiatives do you have planned for Hispanic Heritage Month?
Amig@s Latin@s is determined to strengthen the LatinX community within Flatiron by fostering connections between LatinX employees, as well as allies. So, this year’s events will be focused on creating more opportunities for our community to get to know one another – something that feels particularly critical after spending a year and a half working remotely. We’ve welcomed new LatinX employees to Flatiron during this time and are working to make LatinX Heritage month an opportunity to recognize, learn and further grow our diverse community.
We’re incredibly excited about our upcoming service day event. We will partner with a local organization supporting the LatinX community, and spend the day contributing to their cause with an in-person activity (if COVID-19 restrictions allow).
What are some ongoing programs, initiatives or benefits your company offers to support and empower Hispanic and LatinX employees throughout the year?
Our Amig@s Latin@s ERG is one of the most impactful and ongoing ways Flatiron supports its LatinX employees. The Amig@s ERG, like all ERGs at Flatiron, focuses on supporting LatinX employees through three main pillars: community, career and culture.
The community pillar focuses on supporting the LatinX community inside and outside Flatiron. This often happens through partnerships with community organizations for sponsorship, volunteer and fundraising opportunities.
For the career pillar, the Amig@s ERG spearheads efforts like highlighting existing career development opportunities, promoting professional networking and internally celebrating our success.
Flatiron provides the Amig@s ERG funding and resources that help the ERG plan celebrations throughout Latin Heritage month and beyond. These celebrations are just one way in which the ERG celebrates Latin culture and fosters inclusivity and belonging at Flatiron.
