Unapologetically in Favor of Equity and Justice: A Hispanic Heritage Month Reflection

Let me be direct: I’ve recently met Latino and Black executives who are quietly deleting any mention of diversity from their résumés and LinkedIn profiles. Not because they’ve stopped believing in equity, but because the “current environment” has made them afraid to say it out loud.

And it’s happening during Hispanic Heritage Month, a moment when companies flood social media with colorful graphics celebrating culture, even as leaders of color feel pressure to erase the very values those posts claim to honor.

I understand that fear. I’ve felt it myself. And I don’t dismiss that it may feel riskier to speak up within corporate environments than in my current role as a consultant and board member. But having been on both sides of the table, I encourage you to remember that the choice is always the same: stay quiet to feel safe, or speak up to honor your values.

If you’ve reached leadership, you’ve already proven your talent. That gives you not just privilege, but responsibility: to choose workplaces that align with your values, and to show the next generation that equity is not negotiable. Executives of color know this weight more than most. The influence we carry when we choose silence or conviction shapes what others believe is possible.

And let me be clear about something else: I’m not writing this letter to defend controversial DEI acronyms or corporate programs. I have always talked about something more fundamental: equity and justice. The idea that talent exists in every community, and fairness means opening doors, not closing them.

Equity is not about favoritism. It’s about opportunity. It doesn’t mean lowering standards, but ensuring the standards are applied fairly.

1. From Résumés to Corporate Filings: Erasure Everywhere

What looks like an individual retreat is part of a much larger trend. In 2025, one-third of major U.S. companies removed the word "equity" from their filings. Reporting on women in leadership is declining. Disclosures on race are shrinking. Meanwhile, Europe is moving in the opposite direction, requiring more transparency, not less.

When executives of color delete “diversity” from résumés, and corporations erase “equity” from filings, the signal is the same: fairness is expendable.

2. The Numbers Tell a Different Story

Based on those data, headlines this year have been quick to declare that corporate America is abandoning diversity. It’s true that in 2025, many large firms removed or downplayed DEI language in S&P filings.

But the retreat is not the whole story.

At the same time, shareholders at companies like Coca-Cola, Apple, Goldman Sachs, among others, have overwhelmingly voted against proposals aimed at dismantling inclusion by margins of 98% and 99%.

The message is clear: the language may be shifting, but the commitment to opportunity is still strong at numerous corporations.

And here’s why that matters: diversity isn’t just a moral stance, it’s an economic one: diverse groups aren’t just a feel-good ideal; they perform better. Research shows they make better decisions and create more innovative solutions. A 2023 study from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) found that expanding inclusion in innovation ecosystems could significantly increase U.S. economic growth.

Closing gaps by race or gender isn’t just justice; it’s GDP.

The danger isn’t that inclusion has disappeared. It hasn’t. The danger is leaders believing they can quietly support it without saying so.

Belief without voice is silence. And silence teaches the next generation that courage is optional.

3. Backlash Isn’t New, and It Doesn’t Last

Every community that’s been seen as “different” has faced them. Irish immigrants were once branded as drunk and criminal, Chinese immigrants were legally banned from entering, Japanese families were forced into internment camps, Jewish students faced quotas in medical schools, and Latinos were deported en masse under programs like Operation Wetback.

Each backlash was real, painful, and terribly unjust. And each time, leaders with values like Wong Kim Ark, Fred Korematsu, Rabbi Stephen Wise, and César Chávez helped their communities endure until the fear went away..

That lesson remains just as urgent today. For executives of color, I encourage you to remember that silence sends a message that values change when times get hard. White executives, this moment is just as much your test: will you help create space or make it harder for all others (regardless of their gender, race, or ethnicity) to stand taller?

4. The Difference Between Law and Justice.

Today, immigrants who’ve lived here for decades, raised families, and paid billions in taxes are called criminals. Families are being separated not through careful, just processes, but through cruelty. Yes, some crossed illegally. But that does not justify tearing children from their parents or using violence.

The system has failed to create better laws that reflect the reality: this country depends on immigrant families.

Laws can change with politics; values: fairness, dignity, compassion must remain steady.

5. Hispanic Heritage Month is more than hashtags.

Hispanic Heritage Month should be about leadership in action: showing up where it matters most, having the courage to defend our values not just in words but in deeds, and passing that example on to the next generation.

Posting a colorful graphic on Instagram is not enough. If your company celebrates us online but refuses to stand for equal opportunity inside its walls, you’re chasing followers, not justice.

And it’s not just corporations. Too often, even within our own community, we post nice graphics or selfies at expensive galas, but rarely show up where it matters most: mentoring students, visiting underserved schools, giving time to the very communities we claim to represent, and defending rights in public spaces.

Here’s the reality: Latinos are almost 26% of America’s youth — one in four children. We are not a side note. We are the future of this country.

The Test of Our Values

Résumés erased. Equity erased. Hashtags everywhere. These are the signals the next generation is watching.

Laws change. Political climates shift. But values like fairness, dignity, and compassion are not supposed to bend with the times.

If equal opportunity ends, the country loses its soul and its ability to compete, adapt, and solve the complex challenges ahead.

So let’s be unapologetically clear: Don’t erase opportunity. Defend it. Speak it. Live it.

This Hispanic Heritage Month, the test isn’t whether we post the brightest graphics. It’s whether we pass on the courage to defend our values when it’s hardest. Because if we don’t, the next generation will learn that silence is safer than courage. And that’s not the legacy we should leave behind.

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