A call to unify the U.S. Hispanic community takes place today as We Are All Human, the global non-profit devoted to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, gathers leaders of America’s largest diverse community at the United Nations for the organization’s first Hispanic Leadership Summit.
Inspiring the summit’s focus are key findings from the Hispanic Sentiment Study, recently commissioned by Mexican-Swiss diplomat Claudia Romo Edelman, founder of We Are All Human. The study shows America’s largest diverse community is feeling under-appreciated and less confident in the American Dream, as two-thirds of those surveyed say their vote as U.S. citizens does not count.
“At a time when so many Hispanics feel estranged and threatened, I cannot think of a more important priority for us than to unify as one U.S. Hispanic community,” Romo Edelman said. “I know in my heart it is what our Hispanic community needs at this pivotal moment in history.”
In developing the Hispanic Sentiment Study, We Are All Human commissioned Zeno Group, a global communications firm, to survey more than 2,500 Hispanics and Latinos over the age of 14, analyzing results by respondents who identified as first-generation Americans and second-generation Americans, as well as along generational lines: Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers and Matures.
The study’s findings will be shared today to inspire the summit’s attendees to build a common agenda for the Hispanic and Latinx community, one that advances values and priorities, such as family, education, work, and safety for families.
“Unifying and organizing is an opportunity to realize the full potential of a community with $1.7 trillion of U.S. spending power,” Romo Edelman said. “Because if we fail, we risk losing the confidence of a Hispanic community that has long been a believer in the American Dream.”
Other Hispanic Sentiment Study findings included:
Fewer than one out of five (19 percent) of the survey respondents who identified as second-generation Americans said they believed “The American Dream is alive and well,” much less than the 37 percent of Hispanics and Latinx who identified as first-generation Americans.
Nearly half (49 percent) of second-generation Americans in the survey said, “The American Dream is alive, but it is not what it once was,” compared to 38 percent of first-generation Americans.
One out of three (33 percent) second-generation Americans in the survey said the state of the U.S. Hispanic community was “very good” to “excellent,” significantly less than the nearly half (48 percent) of first-generation Americans who expressed the same level of confidence.
Romo Edelman noted We Are All Human’s research is consistent with a loss of confidence in business that was expressed by Hispanics in the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer.
In the global communication firm’s annual study of trust and reputation, Hispanics showed the lowest level of trust in business (35 percent) among all multicultural groups surveyed — a decline of 24 percentage points from 2017, the biggest trust decline observed among multicultural groups surveyed.
“Clearly, there is an opportunity to better engage and represent Hispanic and Latinx Americans, so they do not feel alienated from American values and priorities,” Romo Edelman said. “Business leaders and political leaders who best understand this will be the ones who succeed at influencing how Hispanics spend, invest and vote.”
She said the Hispanic Sentiment Study’s findings point to what the Hispanic community is looking for from leaders:
Hispanics overwhelmingly (82 percent) think that they should be valued more than they are today.
They also want to be engaged more, with more than half (56 percent) expressing interest in being “an active part” of the community.
84 percent said they would be “more favorable” to brands that are “playing a positive role” in their lives.
About the Hispanic Leadership Summit at the United Nations
The Hispanic Leadership Summit at the United Nations is a non-partisan event that plans to go beyond sectoral interests and insights from the November midterm elections to discuss and reflect on what unites America’s many Hispanic and Latinx communities, and what should be done to ensure their importance to the U.S.’s future is understood. Event sponsors include
Golden Sponsors: AT&T, Dairy Management Inc, Greenberg Traurig, HARMAN, Microsoft, ULTA Beauty. Silver sponsors: Chevron, PepsiCo, Western Union. Bronze sponsors: AFLAC, APCO, Alzheimer Association, Colgate, Viacom, Walmart. Also, Hispanic Executive & The Alumni Society, HACE, Cultura Colectiva, Zeno Group.
The Hispanic Leadership Summit will be filmed by the United Nations. The live feed will be available here and on the We Are All Human website.
About We Are All Human
We Are All Human is a foundation dedicated to advancing the agenda of equity, diversity, inclusion.
In October 2018, the Foundation unveiled the results of its Hispanic Sentiment Study, which focused on the outlook of the U.S. Hispanic/Latino community by exploring pertaining to politics, business, education and personal values. Conducted September 15-19, 2018 via online by the global communications firm Zeno Group, the Hispanic Sentiment Study surveyed more than 2,500 Hispanics/Latinos, aged 14 and older, across the United States.
For more information, visit www.WeAreAllHuman.org.