Supporting Hispanic-Latino Diversity in the Workplace

Being a diverse and inclusive company makes us strong and is essential to our ability to drive responsible growth and meet the financial needs of our clients, communities and employees.

We are committed to investing in our Hispanic-Latino community, including supporting our Hispanic-Latino teammates, delivering for our Hispanic-Latino clients, and helping advance thriving economies in the communities we serve.

Being a great place to work for Hispanic-Latinos

Being a great place to work for Hispanic-Latinos

We are committed to recruit, retain and promote diverse talent to our company. We partner with more than 200 external organizations to identify diverse talent and in the U.S., we’ve joined forces with several diverse colleges and universities, including Hispanic-serving institutions, to recruit our next generation of leaders. Our most recent campus recruiting class was more than 57% racially and ethnically diverse, with strong Hispanic-Latino representation that continues to grow.

 

We invest more than $1 million annually with third parties focused on advancing Hispanic-Latino talent, like the Association of Latino Professionals for America, Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. We partner with UnidosUS, the largest national nonprofit focused on Hispanic-Latino civil rights, to execute a “Latinos in Finance” workforce development initiative aimed at fueling a talent pipeline.

 

Our Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership & Advancement (HOLA) is one of our most established Employee Networks. HOLA is committed to making Bank of America the best place for Hispanic-Latinos to work and grow professionally by inspiring and fostering an inclusive environment for all employees in support of the bank’s purpose and strategy. It has more than 14,500 members across 36 chapters.

 

Our Hispanic-Latino Leadership Council (HLLC) is comprised of more than 160 U.S.-based Hispanic-Latino senior leaders. The HLLC influences business strategies that build and strengthen relationships with Hispanic-Latino talent in order to be a strong reflection of the diverse communities we serve.

Learn more about our Employee Networks

Diversity in technology

Darlene Alvarez Darlene Alvarez Darlene Alvarez

Diversity in technology

Each year, the Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council (HITEC) honors the top 50 Hispanic professionals in the technology industry across Latin America, Spain and Portugal. HITEC 50 award winner and São Paulo-based chief technology officer for Brazil Global Markets, Darlene Alvarez reflects, “I think industry can continue creating workplaces that are inclusive by embracing differences as a means of achieving success, reducing bias and partnering with groups such as HITEC and HOLA as mechanisms to create a pipeline of talented professionals and leverage opportunities to develop our leaders.”

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month takes place Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 in the U.S. At Bank of America, we celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of Americans whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, while highlighting the many ways that we invest in our Hispanic-Latino employees and communities.

HOLA hosts events around the country to celebrate, ranging from cultural activities like salsa lessons, to insightful panel discussions on Latin American culture and current events, to speed networking events – all with the common goal of uniting and uplifting our Hispanic-Latino teammates.

In 2018, we encouraged employees to share the ways that they’re making a lasting positive impact with the company, at home or in their communities. Leaders from HLLC and HOLA shared what legacy means to them and how they’re making a lasting, positive impact within the company and their communities.

Legacy as a call to action

Estrella “Star” Crawford Estrella “Star” Crawford Estrella “Star” Crawford

Legacy as a call to action

“When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017, I felt compelled to act and leave a legacy for my community of fellow Puerto Ricans. I mobilized with my colleagues in the HOLA Michigan chapter to raise $4,000 towards Puerto Rico relief efforts – an achievement that won our 2017 Feeding America challenge. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I hope that creating a legacy becomes a mission for many.” - Estrella “Star” Crawford, Community Relations Manager, Chief Administrative Officer Group

Delivering for our Hispanic-Latino clients

We’re proud to be the bank of choice for Hispanic-Latino clients and small businesses. About one in every three checking accounts opened are by Hispanic-Latino clients, and we have approximately 300,000 Hispanic-owned small business clients.

As the fastest-growing population in the U.S., and nearly a third of our new consumer banking relationships, building and strengthening relationships with our Hispanic-Latino clients remains a clear business priority.

Examples of our support for our Hispanic-Latino clients:

  • Hispanic entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing segments of the small business sector. We’re investing in research that helps us better understand the unique experiences of this group with our annual Hispanic Small Business Owner Spotlight report.
  • We offer Spanish language capabilities across multiple products and services including mobile and online, through our financial centers and contact centers, and at our ATMs.
  • Our free Better Money Habits® website helps people build their financial know-how. Today the platform is offered in Spanish as Mejores Hábitos Financieros™ on MejoresHabitosFinancieros.com.
  • More than 2,000 of our financial centers have Spanish-language capabilities, with elements including on-site marketing, collateral and over 7,000 Spanish-certified employees to assist clients with their financial needs.