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Silicon Valley technology firms have had serious problems with demographic diversity, including accusations of hostile climates toward women and minority employees. A new analysis of company-level employment data I helped conduct finds, however, that some firms seem to have figured out how to create more diverse workplaces.

A 2016 report from the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, for example, concluded that the technology industry has a problem recruiting and retaining women of all races, as well as black and Hispanic men. READ MORE AT PHYS

Hispanic-Americans are doing much better than their parents when it comes to income mobility. They are climbing up the economic ladder just slightly slower than their white peers, but much faster than blacks, according to a study by Stanford, Harvard and Census Bureau researchers.

For instance, among those who grew up lower middle class, 28% of Hispanics made it to the upper middle class or higher, compared to 35% of whites and only 14% of blacks. And 14% of middle class Hispanic kids made it to the top of the income scale, compared to 19% of whites and 7% of blacks. READ MORE AT CNN MONEY

Read biographies of feature guests for the 2018 Marketing, Media & PR Networking Forum being held tomorrow evening at Chicago Chop House. 

MODERATOR

Diana Gutiérrez, The Jam, News Reporter, WCIU
Diana Gutierrez is a Mexican-American Chicago native. Born to immigrant parents, she is a bilingual journalist. Diana is one of two news reporters on WCIU’s ‘The Jam’. Born on the city’s Southwest side, Gutierrez understands the importance of unbiased journalism and is passionate about storytelling. She is a first-generation college graduate and received her bachelor’s degree from DePaul University in 2016.

She is a former multimedia journalist at Weigel Broadcasting Co.’s WBND-TV in South Bend, Indiana, and previously served as a programming intern at Chicago’s ABC 7 News.

DISCUSSION PANELISTS

Julianne Bartosz, Public Relations Manager, Chicago White Sox
Julianne Bartosz is the manager of public relations for the Chicago White Sox, joining the front office team full-time at the end of the 2014 season. Her responsibilities include communicating the team’s off-the-field efforts, pitching promotional nights and player feature stories, planning the annual SoxFest convention that welcomes thousands of fans to the Hilton Chicago for three days as well as the Game Changers event series, overseeing the team’s market research program, creating ballpark experiences for influencers, writing content for pre-game activities and assisting with the Sox multicultural community outreach.

The Mokena, Illinois, native is proud to combine her writing and event planning skills with her passion for sports. She played multiple sports as a child and continued to play softball and ice hockey at the collegiate level during her time at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, where she graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and public relations and minors in English and business. She was very involved at Saint Mary’s, participating in various student organizations and maintaining multiple jobs and internships on campus. Julie continued her education at Benedictine University while working for the Sox, earning her MBA with concentrations in marketing and entrepreneurship in December 2014.

While the baseball season keeps her busy, Julie is a creative person who enjoys giving back. She’s a member of the Saint Mary’s Alumni Board of Directors, a reading partner for Working in the Schools as well as a mentor through the Benedictine University Mentorship Program and various events as she meets aspiring professionals looking to break into the PR and/or sports worlds.

Freddie Baez, VP of Experiential, Flowers Communications Group
Freddie Baez brings more than 20 years of award-winning expertise in experiential marketing to Flowers Communications Group. Known in the experiential industry as the “go to” guy, he has served as a chief strategist, developed creative, trailblazing concepts and executed hundreds of brand experiences from event activations to concert tours to nationwide sampling programs. Freddie is focused on producing innovative, results-driven experiences that deepen consumer connections with the agency’s existing clients and helping to drive new business that leverages the agency’s experiential capabilities.

Freddie is also the managing partner of the experiential production agency TCG Collective. He has produced event platforms for brands such as Smirnoff Vodka, Don Julio Tequila, Midori, Guinness, and Viacom Networks. He was the event director on the reality show "Master of the Mix" on VH1, Madonna's Nightlife Exchange event with Smirnoff Vodka and co-creator of the Guinness "Live it Up" campaign.

Freddie believes in promoting diversity in the world of advertising and marketing, curating lifestyle campaigns, and producing experiences that truly resonate with consumers. He is also a member of the www.ADCOLOR.org.
Expertise: Producer, Ideation, Strategy, Television Production, Live Music Production, Brand Management, Sponsorship Activation, and Adult Beverage Marketing.

Judith Ruiz-Branch, PR & Community Outreach, Better Business Bureau Chicago
A Chicago native, Judith Ruiz-Branch is a passionate and driven media connoisseur. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Latino Studies. Judith has extensive news, media and public speaking skills and has gained years of experience at various outlets in Chicago including Crain’s Chicago Business, CLTV, WGN-TV, and Rivet Radio. Judith also co-founded a nonprofit, the Angel Gabriel Foundation, in memory of her Uncle who passed away from cancer. The foundation’s mission is to offer essential support for the fight against cancer and beyond. Combining her media experience, philanthropic spirit and passion for empowering people, she now proudly serves as the Public Relations, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Spanish Spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois.

Claudia Vera, National Category Manager, Hispanic, KeHE Distributors
Claudia Vera was an early transplant to the beautiful City of Wind, an environment that would later fuel her passion for diversity in food throughout her career. Earning a degree in English Literature and later additional studies in Marketing and Communications she proceeded to work with the Latin American group for Beam Suntory before her move to Grupo Bimbo, the largest baking company in the World. In San Diego, California she continued to develop and manage brands for General Mills before returning home to Chicago as Director of Business Development in Latin America for Mintel.

Now a seasoned Sales & Marketing professional in the American market she sought out the ability to effect the food retail market nationally as a Category Manager. Holding 15 years of experience developing a strategic approach to Sales & Marketing in the Natural & Specialty food channels, she is currently a Category Manager leading the national growth in the Hispanic Category for KeHE Distributors.

Outside of developing her career and development of knowledge in the Hispanic consumer Claudia enjoys time working out and following a Ketogenic lifestyle She enjoys taking boutique fitness classes like Lagree and Orangetheory and is currently traveling with her 17 year old son visiting colleges as he is about to embark in his very own collegiate experience.

Samantha Renovato, Sr. Manager, Diversity & Inclusion Analytics, Nielsen
Sam Renovato is the Sr Manager, D&I Analytics at Nielsen. In this role, she is responsible for driving accountability through quarterly dashboards created for Nielsen Business Leaders to track and monitor trends and changes in Nielsen’s workforce. She also manages Nielsen’s participation in external diversity surveys that help benchmark and identify opportunities for Nielsen.

She began her career at Nielsen in 2012 and has held various roles in the Human Resources organization from HR Project Analyst to HR Business Partner. In October 2015, she joined the Diversity & Inclusion Team. In 2016, she was a guest speaker at the Colombia Leadership Workshop, held in Bogota, where she shared Nielsen’s D&I strategy. In 2017, she traveled to our Dubai office to understand diversity in the UAE.

Sam serves on the Board of the Aurora Puerto Rican Cultural Council and she is also a member of the HOLA Employee Resource Group. She was featured on Hispanic Executive Magazine as one of the #NextGenLideres: Chicago Talent to Watch. She is a graduate from Lewis University where she double majored in HR and Psychology and obtained a minor in Business Studies. Sam is a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Time is running out to register. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

Diversity and inclusion are becoming increasingly important to businesses.

Public pressure has prompted companies to become more vocal about their equality agendas, and political institutions are introducing frameworks to make sure employers stick to their word. READ MORE AT CNBC

The rapid pace of change in jobs means the era of one-and-done learning is over. It no longer matters what you learned in the past - to stay relevant you need to upskill. READ MORE AT KXLY

As a self-identified “mixed girl” growing up in Northeast Ohio, Janis Bowdler wished for a long, blonde ponytail.

Bowdler, appointed in April as the president of JPMorgan Chase Foundation, remembers her difficulty finding Latina role models in her predominantly white community when she was younger.READ MORE AT AL DIA

Do you wake up feeling pumped about work, or wanting to stay in bed? So much of our lives is spent working. Don’t waste those precious hours doing something you don’t care about. At the very least, you should be interested in what you do.

Only 13% of employees worldwide say they are engaged in their jobs. What about the other 87%? READ MORE AT FORBES

In marketing circles there’s incessant hype about being culturally relevant to the vast Hispanic market here in the U.S., which is 59 million strong. It is great to see examples of it done right.

Here are two solid examples of being truly culturally relevant that illustrate the power culture has in connecting brands to this lucrative consumer segment. READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST

Norwegian American Hospital Foundation to host 4th annual Power of Community Benefit to support the expansion of patient-centered model of care, integrating behavioral health and primary healthcare services.

Norwegian American Hospital Foundation, the philanthropic arm devoted to raising funds for Norwegian American Hospital, will host its annual Power of Community benefit at the Union League Club of Chicago on Thursday, June 21, 2018 at 6:00 pm.  The event, now in its fourth year, will help support the expansion of an innovative, patient-centered model of care that integrates behavioral health services in the community with primary healthcare at Norwegian American Hospital.

Behavioral health issues are a significant and widespread problem in this country. Each year, more than 43 million adults experience a behavioral health issue; last year nearly 10 million adults suffered a major psychiatric or behavioral issue such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, severe depression, or substance abuse. Residents of Norwegian American Hospital’s service areas—Humboldt Park, West Town and surrounding neighborhoods, are among those who face significant chronic health disparities, particularly around behavioral health disorders.

"The need within our community for not only quality mental health treatment, but services to treat co-occurring chronic health conditions for individuals coping with behavioral health disorders, is increasing," said José R. Sánchez, President and CEO of Norwegian American Hospital.  “We are seeing that individuals coping with behavioral health conditions frequently suffer from chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease – just as patients with a chronic illness are twice as likely to have unaddressed behavioral issues.”

"Through the efforts of our foundation and our community partners, we're able to provide more comprehensive services than we'd be able to do alone. With this new, holistic approach to integrated healthcare, we can meet the needs of adolescents, adults and older adults suffering from mental illness who come to us and need coordinated care for chronic medical conditions.”

Historically, behavioral health and medical health have existed in silos. Current healthcare systems often lack coordination, even though there is a strong correlation between physical and behavioral health. The challenges include separate locations for providing care; separate payer systems; separate electronic health records and databases; different regulations; and disjointed transitional care and coordination. In addition, adults with serious behavioral health issues die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general population. 

Proceeds from this year’s Power of Community Benefit will support the development of an innovative, patient-centered model of care that integrates behavioral health services and routine healthcare.  For benefit attendees, the evening will include an elegant dinner, a silent auction with items such as signed sports memorabilia, airline tickets, original artwork, unique restaurant experiences, and more.  The expected 375 guests will be able to use their smartphones for mobile bidding, making it easy to place the winning bid on auction items.

For media interested in learning more about Norwegian American Hospital’s holistic approach to integrated healthcare and the increasing need to address behavioral health in the community, the following healthcare professionals at Norwegian American Hospital are available for interviews: José R. Sánchez, President and CEO; Rick Fernandez, Director and Therapist, Mental Health Services; Julio Hernandez, Mental Health Counselor; Sandra C. Brancky, Intensive Outpatient Program Coordinator.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, please call 312-824-6715 or visit https://www.nahospfoundation.org/benefit/

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The evidence is clear: A more diverse workforce leads to higher revenues and more creative teams. But despite funnelling millions of dollars into well-intentioned diversity initiatives, white men remain over-represented in the industry compared to the private sector as a whole.

The issue is difficult to address for a variety of reasons, including the fact that "the diversity problems of each race are different. READ MORE AT TECHREPUBLIC

On a typical weekday, three-quarters of U.S. Latinos get their news from internet sources, nearly equal to the share who do so from television, according to a 2016 survey of Latino adults by Pew Research Center.

For years, TV was the most commonly used platform for news among U.S. Hispanics. In recent years, however, the share getting their news from TV has declined. READ MORE AT PEW RESEARCH CENTER.

The Wisconsin Historical Society Press’ book Somos Latinas (“We Latinas”): Voices of Wisconsin Latina Activists first began as part of a UW-Madison course in an effort to engage students in documenting the lives of Latina women in Wisconsin.

In 2012, Andrea-Teresa Arenas worked with her students to highlight the mostly unrecognized community organizing efforts of Latinas across the state. READ MORE AT THE SHEPARD EXPRESS

In recent years, the job market has swung heavily in favor of candidates, with companies working hard to attract and retain their industry's top talent. While this is still largely the case, it doesn't mean job seekers always have the upper hand: In fact, many applicants still face steep competition for coveted positions and must find a way to stand out from the crowd.

A great resume and cover letter are a solid start, but if you really want to wow a hiring manager, you'll need to go the extra mile. READ MORE AT FORBES

It’s no secret that the tech industry trails significantly behind many other business sectors in its efforts to recruit, retain and support diverse workers. For example, there are half as many African-Americans and Hispanics in tech as in the rest of the private sector, and 83 percent of tech executives are still white, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. READ MORE AT DICE

A new report from IRI concludes there’s no one-size fits all way for grocers to appeal to the U.S.'s growing Hispanic population. Like other consumers, Hispanic shoppers like to fill their grocery carts with a mix of healthy and indulgent products. IRI found that 36% of Hispanic shoppers said they eat healthy half the time and eat whatever they want the rest of the time, and another 36% said they eat healthy 80% of the time and treat themselves 20% of the time. READ MORE AT FOOD DIVE

'Getting ethnic consumers' is not just about leaving money on the table, it will determine which brands win or lose. We are at the tipping point where the American critical mass is Multicultural and 'minority-majority' is an oxymoron. The need to do Multicultural marketing right is painfully obvious.

Multiculturals are nearly 40% of U.S. consumers who spend $1.7 trillion yet still get under 18% of all ad dollars, and less of company resources. U.S. kids are already majority-ethnic, Millennials will be in 2022, and all of America by 2040. Key states like Texas, California and Florida are led by Hispanics, and ethnic-skewed top 15 DMAs, which make up half of our economic activity. READ MORE AT FURNITURE WORLD

Getting promoted sometimes feels like a puzzle with a solution that's ever-changing. That's because, at many companies, there are no hard-and-fast rules as to who gets promoted.

But just because in many cases the path to a promotion is vague does not mean you can't put yourself in the best position possible. If you follow the rules below you won't always get the job, but you will have a better chance at landing the promotion you will (if you follow these suggestions) richly deserve. READ MORE AT USATODAY

The Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GPHCC) will host its Annual Closing the Gap Conference on June 12 at the Community College of Philadelphia, welcoming entrepreneurs, leaders and human resource professionals to a series of sessions on successfully marketing to and engaging Latinos in the food and hospitality industries.

“The conference provides business owners, corporations, and industry professionals the opportunity to learn how to overcome the outcome gaps Latinos face in the food and hospitality industry,” READ MORE AT AL DIA

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has named Maria Salinas its new president and chief executive, making her the first female leader in the organization's history.

Salinas will begin work Aug. 1. She is replacing Gary Toebben, who will retire July 1 after leading the chamber for 12 years. READ MORE AT L.A. BIZ

Thinking about finding yourself a new 9-5? It can be hard to figure out what exactly you can do to make your résumé stand out in a crowd of other, similarly polished, one-page masterpieces. Even after you've looked at every template around and re-written your cover letter fifteen times, there are still ways to make the recruiter or hiring manager in HR notice your résumé first — and help them remember it when they're looking at 200 others.

These résumé writing tips from experts can help you polish up what you send out with your application and help you stand out. READ MORE AT BUSTLE