We asked Orta to talk with Barry Magazine about his work, how the DE&I space has changed, and what the future of DE&I might look like in corporate America.
What was it about the DE&I space that made you dedicate your career to it?
For a big part of my career, I was the only Hispanic in the room. And I thought, “Well, that’s not right.” So, I focused on opening up as many doors and including as many other diverse voices as I could, and I really fell in love with that work.
Rye Barcott, coined the phrase “talent is universal; opportunity is not” in his 2011 book It Happened on the Way to War.
To me, it’s always about opening up opportunities to people who are really talented, and who just—for whatever reason—don’t have access to them.
Looking at your experience, you really build communities and then depend on those communities to help build the programs that you put in place. Talk to us a bit about the importance of community in this work.
You can’t do anything by yourself. I’ve always believed that people are good, want to help, and they take pride in others succeeding. You have to have individuals who see your vision, support your vision, and want to be part of it.
When that community owns the program that you’ve created, that’s when you’ve truly been successful. The greatest compliment I can receive is when I build something and the people who have gone through it say, “our program or my program,” because it was built for them.
Throughout your career, you have instituted programs and initiatives at companies and organizations. Tell us about one that makes you proud.
At the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, I created a program called the Young Hispanic Corporate Achiever Program. Every year, the HACR sends out an invitation to Fortune 500 CEOs and asks him or her to identify up to three young Hispanic corporate achievers under the age of 40 and nominate them for this award, which includes three days of leadership development and training. What happens is, the CEO receives the letter, forwards it to HR, and HR asks: “Do we have a high achiever who’s Latino under 40?” If they do, those individuals will probably be nominated. If they don’t, then that begins a different conversation: “Why don’t we have someone like that?” Since the program’s inception in 2007, HACR has identified almost 2,000 of these Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers and has recognized more than 400 of them.
How have things changed in the DE&I space in the last couple of years and what is your hope for its future?
Like everything else, DE&I evolves. For a long time, companies focused on numbers: How can we become more diverse? The next step was to “include” the diverse population in positions of authority, influence, and power. Today, many companies want to ensure that their employees feel a sense of “belonging” in the workplace, so programs are being put in place to achieve this goal.
In the summer of 2020, the world witnessed the horrible death of George Floyd. His death, along with the previous deaths of others, followed by the social justice rallies throughout the country, forced Corporate America to lead when it came to DE&I. In the months that followed Floyd’s death, a lot of companies stepped up and led the way by making huge financial commitments, enhancing their DE&I strategies, and providing the opportunity for their employees to engage in open, honest dialogue about DE&I.
And what’s next in the DE&I evolution?
George Floyd and the social justice movement is still present in people’s minds, but the environment isn’t as it was two or three years ago. Some say DE&I is losing ground because of the current culture wars, the threat of a recession, and the 2024 elections.
Who knows what is next for DE&I? What we do know for sure is that the U.S. becomes more and more diverse every single day. In April of 2045, the census projects the U.S. will become a majority minority country. In addition, women and minorities will be the most educated they’ve ever been. This shift will massively affect the workforce for the conceivable future. Companies will need to continue to invest and expand their DE&I strategies because their consumers (and their employees) will demand that of them.