ENLACE { pronounced en-laah-cé } is a Spanish-English cognate, or rather a word that has the same Latin or Greek root and its spelling and meaning are same or very similar in both languages.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) ‘Enlace’ means to “interlace, intertwine, embrace, weave” (Merriam-Webster, n.a.). In Spanish, it means to “bond, link, connect, union, liaison” (Spanish Central, n.d.).

As a Guatemalan immigrant and a bilingual professional with over twenty years of business acumen in diverse fields, the word Enlace gives a profound meaning to my life and work experiences and observations in organizational cultures. Early in my professional career, I witnessed and experienced resistance to diversity, and inclusion in the workplace, from simple eye rolls to outright hostility if co-workers engaged in a non-English conversation.

I was raised by a single immigrant mother, she worked as a housekeeper and as a food service worker.  Her schedule flexed from early morning to late night hours, I won’t say she didn’t complain, but her work ethic was exemplary. Whatever was going on in our lives she showed up to work and put a roof over our heads, and delicious food on the table. She instilled in me the immigrant work ethic – a belief that if we worked hard we would get ahead, and that you give everything or none at all – A belief I have come to understand is rooted in a meritocracy myth.

Except that when I entered the working world, inclusion and accessibility was not afforded equally to everyone. On the one hand, had I not received the mentorship and support that I did from amazing women supervisors early on, who believed in me and nurtured and challenged me, I would not be where I am today.  On the other hand, as my skill set progressed and I grew professionally with more responsibilities the less mentors I had, and the more resistance and rejection I experienced.

As a bilingual, White-presenting immigrant woman of color with an almost non-existed accent (most of the time), equipped with a strong work ethic and a willingness to learn and give it my all, I feel it was easy for me to get ahead and receive promotions, particularly after I returned to college in my early 30’s. However, my rude awakening and crash encounter with the ever-elusive glass-ceiling happened when I started wanting to grow more professionally and seek senior-level/executive positions about ten years ago. It was at a time I started pushing and advocating for more diversity and multicultural marketing education in a White male dominated industry.

Enlace Consulting was conceptualized out of an unequaled passion for the advancement of women, minorities and their intersectionalities in the workplace.  Enlace Consulting gave me the vehicle in which I could engage business and organizational leaders in courageous and genuine conversations around gender equity, diversity, and inclusion in their workplace.

In essence, Enlace Consulting is the liaison in which business and organizational leaders can link their organizational values with an inclusive and equitable diversity strategy that can help them maximize the potential of their most value resource, their human capital. While it is Enlace Consulting’s mission to help businesses and organizational leaders attract, retain and capitalize on a diverse workforce, it is also the vision and purpose to create an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone is a valued member of the organization with the same opportunity for growth, development, promotion and compensation.

Enlace Consulting specializes in helping businesses and organizations embrace an inclusive and equitable business model that is also aligned with systems-change theory and trauma-informed practices that can shift organizational culture and policies and sustain improved outcomes by providing a road map to organizations willing to explore their potential and make a shift in the right direction.

Reference:

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Enlace. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved February 11, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enlace

Spanish Central. (n.d.). Enlace. In SpanishCentral.com dictionary. Retrieved February 11, 2020, from http://www.spanishcentral.com/translate/enlace