Decades before Daisy Auger-Dominguez became one of the few Latina executives in corporate America, she was Daisita, holder of hopes and dreams for a family of immigrants who had sacrificed what they had so their daughter could be more.

Her parents wanted her to become a professional, but there was so much that was unspoken — and unknown — about what it would take to achieve that goal in predominantly White workplaces.

“For many of us, we enter these spaces without a decoder ring,” Auger-Dominguez said. She started her career in the 1990s as a junior analyst at Moody’s, the financial services firm, before rising to be the company’s vice president of diversity a decade later. That was followed by executive positions at Disney, Google, Viacom and VICE Media. She also served on the board of The 19th from 2020 to 2021.

Her journey has often been one of being the “only” Latina in workplaces that could be quietly hostile. Discrimination could range from offhand comments to being passed over for promotions. It was an experience of isolation, Auger-Dominguez said.

For many Latinas, it still is: They are the least represented group at the highest levels of corporate America.

“You realize: ‘They don’t really see me. I was granted access to this space but they don’t really want me to be me. They’re not ready to really accept what that looks like,’” she said.

Those biases mean Latinas have the steepest climb up the corporate ladder. They make up only 5 percent of entry-level workers in corporate jobs and end up as just 1 percent of C-suite executives. It’s a disparity so stark that unless major investments are made, it’s possible Latinas will never catch up to other groups of women, according to a startling new report released Thursday from LeanIn.org. It’s the largest report of its kind.

Since 2015, Lean In, the foundation started by former Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company have been releasing an annual “Women in the Workplace” report that has surveyed more than 450,000 workers at more than 900 companies. The findings about Latinas from the past five years, as well as two dozen in-depth interviews with Latinas across different industries and roles, were put together for the latest analysis — the first time Lean In has studied this group specifically. Auger-Dominguez was among the group interviewed between 2021 and 2024.

According to the foundation, while only 1 percent of C-suite executives are Latinas, White women are 22 percent, White men are 56 percent and men of color are 15 percent. The remaining 6 percent are women of color from all backgrounds, including Latinas.

The pathway to promotion is fraught for Latinas at two key junctures: moving from entry-level to manager positions and advancing from director to vice president. These are known as the “broken rungs” in the corporate ladder, or the points where advancement stops. While many women of color, especially Black women, face a broken rung when trying to become managers, Latinas also face a second obstacle when striving for a vice presidency. For every 100 men promoted to VP, only 90 Latinas are, the lowest rate of any group, Lean In found.

The dismal figures are not for lack of interest. About 71 percent Latinas reported they were interested in becoming senior leaders, compared with 63 percent of women overall. Since the pandemic, Latinas have been returning to the workforce at a clip that has outpaced their counterparts. Before COVID-19, they were already starting businesses at a rate six times higher than other groups, and more recent data suggests the trend has continued.

Read the full article about disparities among Latinas in corporate executive roles by Chabeli Carrazana at The19th.