African Americans aren't the only minorities who struggle for equality in the workplace. The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers reveals the unique challenges Hispanic Americans face. The board of directors of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) talks about the challenges of being Hispanic American in corporate America. African Americans aren’t the only minorities who struggle for equality in the workplace. A conversation with the board of directors of The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE; www.shpe.org), which hosts an annual national conference and provides technology workshops, guest speakers and outreach programs through its 42 professional chapters and over 160 student chapters, reveals the unique challenges Hispanic Americans face. “Sometimes the mentorship of a Latino isn’t there,” says Jose Rivera, a project management consultant and president of SHPE. “Sometimes you’re the only Latino voice or face in a division. You may see another Latino only in the cafeteria or cleaning the offices at night. It can be lonely.” “I think that sometimes people perceive you as not being the management type, just because of the stereotype,” says Jazmin Jonson, senior software engineer for the Sun-Netscape Alliance and national secretary of SHPE. SHPE, which was founded in 1974, plays much the same role for Hispanics as the BDPA (see Why Are African Americans Still Largely Absent From Senior Management Positions?) does for blacks. Byron Gutierrez, who works as a project leader at Sun Microsystems Inc. and is SHPE’s national vice president, says, “I didn’t even think there was a viable career path in computer science. I was the first person in my family to go to college, so I had little support. SHPE gave me a network.” Rivera encourages companies to recruit at the SHPE national conferences, which are attended by 3,000 to 4,000 Hispanic Americans. “We’re the second largest ethnic group in the United States,” says Rivera. “SHPE is here to help corporate America help Latinos. We want to help them help themselves.” —T. Datz Related content News Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers, including some at AWS The latest round of Amazon layoffs will impact AWS, Twitch, advertising and PXT, CEO Andy Jassy said. By Jon Gold Mar 20, 2023 3 mins Technology Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost What’s next for network operations Broadcom: 2023 Tech Trends That Transform IT By Serge Lucio, Vice President and General Manager, Agile Operations Division Mar 20, 2023 8 mins IT Leadership Networking BrandPost Digital transformation obstacles: Stubborn challenges, what to do about them Value Stream Management is an increasingly essential approach to strategic transformation initiatives. To help teams more fully capitalize on the opportunities it presents, Broadcom is holding its third annual VSM Summit. By Marla Schimke, Head of Product and Growth Marketing, Broadcom's Enterprise Software Division Mar 20, 2023 3 mins Devops Software Development Feature CEO directives: Top 5 initiatives for IT leaders As organizations change course with economic gyrations, collaboration between IT and business becomes priority No. 1 for CEOs. By Stacy Collett Mar 20, 2023 7 mins IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe