Harry's Fuerza Latina ERG Talk

1. Overview of ERG
2. Hispanic Heritage Month Theme
3. Topics Covered
4. Background & Career
5. Latinos and Latinas in Tech
6. Techqueria and Latinx/Hispanic Community Empowerment
7. Mentorship/Volunteering/Life Balance
8. Questions From Chat

Overview of ERG

The Fuerza Latina ERG’s mission is to be the go-to organization for the Latinx/Hispanic community, providing a safe space for the ERG members to share, learn, network, and develop their skills to increase their success and impact on the business.

Hispanic Heritage Month Theme

The HHM 2021 theme is “Breaking Boundaries.” We’ll highlight Latinos and Latinas who have broken ground and barriers in their fields and passionately advocate for the Latinx/Hispanic community.

Topics Covered

Background & Career

• Thank you for joining us! We’d love to learn more about you… could you give us the 101 on Frances?
• What do you particularly love about your Peruvian heritage? What are the things you brag about?
• You are a first-generation Latina building your career in Tech. Could you tell us what the main challenges or barriers you faced were?
• Currently, you’re a Software Engineer at Slack. We love Slack; we use it all the time! Among all the companies you could have worked for, why Slack?

Latinos and Latinas in Tech

Let’s talk about D&I in Tech…

• Recently published reports showed that the biggest Tech companies have only low simple digits of both Black and Latinx employees, and that little progress has been made in the last few years. From your own perspective and experience, why do you think the Tech industry struggles this much with the diversity of its workforce?
• We also know that women remain highly underrepresented in the Tech workforce (only 14% of software engineers are women). Again, from your own experience, what does it mean to be a woman in Tech and a Latina in Tech?
• Looking back at the time you decided to go for a Computer Science degree, what were some aspects -if any- that you found cumbersome to navigate as a Latina during the application process? What do you think could be improved to both attract more Latinx applicants and make things easier for them?
• Now talking about getting a job in the Tech industry, you have a very interesting story about interviewing at Docusign that we think illustrates really well how the interviewing and hiring process takes place in this field. Could you briefly tell us that story and what did you learn from it?
• Also, reflecting on those occasions you were applying for jobs, what aspects or practices do you think the companies and recruiters could have done better?

Techqueria and Latinx/Hispanic Community Empowerment

• Let’s talk about how your involvement in the DE&I area started… What are the things that you saw or experienced in your career -or personally- that fueled the desire of doing something for the Latinx community and other groups?
• Just by exploring your personal website, we know you’ve done many cool things already, from speaking engagements like this to press interviews. When did you realize that you were doing something significant?
• Could you describe in a few words what Techqueria is and its mission and purpose?
• What could people at Harry’s or Harry’s as a company do to help Techqueria or the Latinx community in Tech, in general?
• Thinking about BIPOC talent retention, what do you think a Latina like you could make that makes you think “I want to stay at this company for a while”?

Mentorship/Volunteering/Life Balance

• You have mentored over 40 folks in your relatively young -yet prolific- career. Could you share why mentorship is such an essential part of your life?
• Some of us may still be a bit hesitant about mentoring someone, either because we have never done this before or because we think we are not in a position to do so, working experience or knowledge-wise. What tips and words of encouragement would you give to these in-the-fence folks?
• We also know that you’re a proud Corgi mom of two. How did this aspect of your life contribute -if at all to your work-life balance? How have you personally learned from it?
• One of the BIG questions we have is… How on earth do you manage to do ALL this? Any tips on time management that you could share?
• Any last words of wisdom for all the folks in the call, and for the Latinos and Latinas at Harry’s in particular?

Questions From Chat

• Google and HBCU funding
• Thinking about BIPOC talent retention, what do you think a Latina like you could make that makes you think, “I want to stay at this company for a while”?