Career opportunities for Hispanic women even appear to be plentiful in the traditionally male-dominated field of technology. Latinas are welcomed and valued at IBM, says Mar a Ferris, manager of IBM s Workforce Diversity Initiative and Global Initiative for the Advancement of Women. IBM has developed such programs as La Red Familiar, a mentoring system exclusively for their Hispanic employees in which individuals are provided career development advice and support. IBM also organizes a symposium for its multicultural female employees, designed to teach them what it takes to get ahead at a corporation like IBM, says Mar a Fern ndez, an IBM manager. It is a chance to make multicultural women aware of the role models within the company and better understand the power of networking, she says.
Insurance is another industry offering opportunities.
Hispanic women can also benefit from a flexible work schedule at companies such as Wal-Mart Stores, since many of its stores are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Moreover, the company offers good opportunities to move up, Reithemeyer says. Regional Vice President Rose Reza, for example, began in a management training program and is now responsible for several billion dollars in sales. With such heavy recruiting efforts and programs, these corporations and many others are well armed in their war for Latina talent. If Hispanic women such as Reza continue to put themselves on the front line, victory seems all but certain.