Effective diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies must take a detailed approach to workplace fairness and inclusion. While broad-stroke principles can lay a helpful DEI foundation, true inclusion is the product of specific strategies that target the unique needs of different segmented populations. For Latino and Hispanic Americans, two obstacles affect their inclusion at a much higher rate than they affect other communities: language barriers and immigration/work authorization status. To accommodate Latino employees and customers, organizations must develop strategies for specifically addressing these two challenges.
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Spanish Language Accommodations
Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world, with over 550 million speakers globally. In the United States, 41 million people speak Spanish as a native language, and another 11 million speak it as a second language. This makes the U.S. the country with the second-largest population of Spanish speakers in the world, behind only Mexico. Unsurprisingly, most American Spanish speakers are Latino or Hispanic, with 75% of Latinos possessing a high level of fluency in Spanish.
