NACE Journal / Winter 2025

I recently attended a day-long professional symposium for women in New York City and ran into a colleague, Dr. Sofia Pertuz, who is a former higher education professional; after a stint in the nonprofit world, she was betting on herself with her own business. In our conversation about higher education and our experience of being the only Latinas in leadership roles, she used the phrase “professional neglect.”

My colleague’s phrase made me think of how Latinas specifically, as well as other women of color, are recruited to roles and then neglected once they’ve arrived. I also thought about how the phrase relates to my research. At that point, I had spent the last three years researching and completing a dissertation on the recruitment and retention of Latinas as senior executives roles at predominantly white private institutions in the greater New York area.

Defining Professional Neglect

Professional neglect manifests in myriad ways, ranging from the subtle to the overt. It includes:

• Tokenism without support: An individual is recruited to diversify leadership tables without meaningful inclusion in decision-making processes.
• Cultural taxation: The individual bears the additional burden of serving as a representative of all Latinx issues, or the lone mentor of color, often without recognition or compensation.
• Lack of mentorship and sponsorship: The individual navigates leadership without the networks, guidance, or advocates afforded to peers.
• Dismissal of expertise: The individual’s ideas are dismissed or co-opted, often by individuals who do not share the lived experiences that inform those perspectives.
• Microaggressions and bias: The individual faces subtle forms of racism and sexism that undermine confidence and credibility.
• Psychological safety in the workplace: Retaining women in the highest ranks of institutions requires more than just equitable pay but also psychological safety to endure the trauma and harm that comes with the job as the only woman or the only person of a traditionally underrepresented identity.¹

Research shows that despite the demographic cliff of 2025 when there will be in fewer high school graduates to recruit to colleges, Hispanics and Latinos are still the fastest-growing demographic and will remain so for the next decade^.2 What does this mean, and why is this important?

Every college in the country will be competing for the same significantly reduced pool of high school graduates. Smart, strategic schools will look at the target populations and recruit the ever-growing group of Hispanic and Latino students to their schools. Those that will be successful are those that create clear pathways for success and infrastructures of support once these students arrive at their campuses.

Research also has shown that for Latinx students, retention and persistence to graduation are higher when they see people who look like them in faculty roles and in leadership.³ They are also exposed to career pathways they may have never thought of before when they see people who look like them in various roles.⁴

What are institutions doing to recruit and retain more Latinas into their C-suite? A 2021 study identifies the need for additional Latina administrators, indicating that representation matters to the fast-increasing Latinx student body, i.e., at those institutions that are moving toward recognition as Hispanic-serving institutions and representation of Latinas in administration or faculty roles is lacking.⁵

The Research: Telling the Stories of Latina Leaders

My study explored the barriers or facilitators that influence the recruitment and retention of Latinas to senior executive roles.⁶ During the “great resignation,” I saw Latinas who I had admired for years leaving their senior roles. They were exiting into industry roles, early retirement, or with no other role. What did they know that I did not? As someone aspiring for a more senior role, I wanted to learn from their experiences.

I set off on my journey to start a doctoral degree program and knew immediately what I wanted to find out: Why were they quitting? The women I interviewed illuminated the persistence required to overcome systemic barriers, as well as the skills they leveraged to reach success in their careers.

There are companies and colleges that do a great job in recruiting talented Latinas into senior leadership roles, but not such a great job in retaining them. In fact, although many companies were quick to hire diversity roles after the murder of George Floyd, many had already phased out those roles before the recent executive orders came down. This feels a lot like professional neglect. Through my research, I wanted to uncover what the success measures were in retaining Latinas and some ways that Latinas have leveraged negotiations to advance their careers.

Methodology

Within my study, I sent out a survey to recruit Latinas to anonymously engage with me about their experiences climbing the professional ladder, and 16 participated. In a national study about women in the workplace, the researchers found that for the ninth consecutive year, women faced their biggest hurdle at the first critical step up to manager—and my survey quickly revealed that the proverbial first step to advance into management was not available to Latinas in a very real way.⁷ My survey garnered three participants who were willing to sit down for two Zoom interviews to talk about their experiences, barriers in their careers, mentorship, and sponsorship as well as advice for how organizations can do better for future Latinas.⁸ With a narrative inquiry approach and the use of Latino critical race theory as the framework for the research, I was able to focus on the positions of intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and immigration status as a valuable lens in understanding the experiences of Latinas in senior executive roles.^9,10

The data from those interviews were so rich I wished I could have published all of the interview transcripts word for word into a dissertation. The participant stories validated my own experiences as a Latina in higher education: the microaggressions, the stereotypes, and the tropes all hinder advancement into the C-suite.

Some of the findings were pretty alarming, including one of the most surprising—that Latinas who’ve made it to senior leadership roles do not help other Latinas. Apparently, we Latinas have been sold a lie that there can only be one of us in senior leadership. This can be attributed to something called “the Queen Bee” syndrome of the 1970s, which popularized the idea that women are harder on other women and are protecting their spot in leadership by tamping down the careers of other women.¹¹ Participants in my research shared that they were often surprised that, when connecting with their fellow Latina colleagues for advice on promotions, they were met with questions instead of support.¹² Some of these Latina executives came to realize that the notion of women of color supporting each other was fractured for them and that, many times, the encouragement came from white colleagues.¹³

Findings

The professional neglect I mentioned earlier showed up in my research. Latinas in my study mentioned being passed over for promotion, having to assimilate to the dominant culture within their offices, and having to seek allyship from white counterparts for support.

Let us now discuss why Latinas are the secret superpower: I found that Latinas bring with them their cultured lens to the workplace and their unrivaled ability to traverse different groups and identities across an organization.¹⁴ Overall, Latinas bring a unique perspective to leadership that can enhance organizational diversity and effectiveness, but their progression requires institutional support and recognition of their cultural and identity-specific challenges.¹⁵

Finding #1: Self-directed career development is the way to go. Successful Latina leaders emphasize the importance of taking initiative in their own career advancement and learning rather than relying solely on institutional support or traditional career trajectories. Participants shared that they had to seek out opportunities for themselves in the community and on campuses, and create their own networks for professional development.

Finding #2: Mentorship, sponsorship, and networking are a combined effort. According to the research, there is a lack of women of color, especially Latinas, in senior-level positions; finding a male mentor might help women accomplish more significant success in navigating the traditional "good ol’ boy" network.¹⁶ With a more considerable number of men in senior leadership positions, tapping into men's mentorship for women's advancement is crucial.^17,18,19

My study’s participants all shared the concept of sponsorship and the impact it has had in opening doors of opportunity for them in their careers. Unlike mentorship in which you are provided guidance, advice, and support through conversation or shared experience, sponsorship creates opportunity.²⁰

Finding #3: Representation of Latinas matters. Research has shown that individuals who are “onlies”—the only woman, the only person of color, and so forth—are subject to a higher percentage of bias and discrimination from members of the majority group, whether intentional or not.²¹ Participants in my study discussed the isolation they felt from either not having any Latinas to look up to or the lack of support from fellow Latinas during their careers.²² As the Hispanic and Latino demographic increases on college campuses, so too will it increase in the workforce, and representation in senior leadership will be a pivotal factor in the recruitment and retention of junior staff.

Finding #4: Institutional support and resources are needed. Institutional barriers can be compounded by internal impostor syndrome that women often feel when climbing the leadership ladder.²³ Some of those barriers include the emotional labor of trying to change the institutional and systemic factors that limit women from being promoted or trying to fit into traditional organizational expectations of leaders within the hierarchies.²⁴ Women statistically still hold the majority of domestic and caregiving responsibilities in their homes.²⁵ What this means is that they have to navigate both home and work life; to give 100% at work means there is little left to give at home. How institutions show up for women, including Latinas, is recognizing how they can support them by offering flexible scheduling, advocating for health benefits that support leave and family care, and providing caregiving incentives. Research shows that people are often looking for safety in the workplace.²⁶ The word safety refers to the psychological and emotional safety that often takes up space in the mind and inhibits innovation or fruitful work.²⁷ If institutions and organizations did more to support the whole employee, it would yield a positive overall output. 

Finding #5: Challenging assumptions is exhausting. Women and women of color can also contribute to challenging the status quo of what a leader looks like. Participants in my study talked about how exhausted they often felt having to be the one to advocate or call out a colleague on their racism, microaggressions, or behavior in general. They also felt the pressure to be the one to do it stating, “If not me, then who?”²⁸ The tax placed on Latina executives to navigate the workplace is high, and they pay that tax every single day to make it better for every other person of color in the organization. How managers and leaders show up to support them is important and can make a difference in how Latina executives retain and feel about their workplace.

My findings underscore the need for organizations to invest in enhancing recruitment and retention strategies for Latinas in senior executive roles. Institutions should prioritize creating robust mentorship and sponsorship programs, particularly leveraging male allies and existing senior leaders to support Latina advancement early in their careers.²⁹ Emphasizing family-friendly policies and flexible work arrangements can help address the work-life balance challenges Latinas and many staff face. Additionally, fostering a supportive and inclusive culture will allow organizations to leverage the unique perspectives and leadership qualities Latinas bring, ultimately enriching their organizational effectiveness and diversity.³⁰

Reimagining Leadership: From Neglect to Empowerment

Latinas have the potential to drive transformational change in higher education, but this requires an environment that values and supports their leadership. Leaders and organizations can start by addressing professional neglect; institutions can not only retain Latina leaders but also benefit from the richness of their perspectives. The inclusion of Latinas in leadership is not just a matter of equity but a pathway to innovation and excellence in higher education.

Sociologist Arlene Kaplan Daniels coined the term “invisible work” to describe work that goes unpaid, unacknowledged, and thus, unregulated. Some examples of  “invisible work” include mentorship of people of color, nurturing team dynamics, and—most importantly—acknowledging harm.³¹ Women of color are tasked with helping their organization by either validating whether something is racist, speaking on behalf of their entire race, or even worse, speaking on behalf of all people of color.

There is a cultural burden placed on staff of color to support white colleagues who need emotional support “to [help them] identify, analyze, and provide feedback on systemic issues in the institution.”³² This burden is not tangible for a performance review, appreciable as a bullet on a resume, or even warranted on a cover letter, leaving women of color unrecognized for the valuable and much-needed work that is happening in their work environments.³³ This invisible work takes up a lot of time, and the countless conversations, meetings, explanations, and closed-door counseling are not quantifiable and take time from completing work-related tasks.³⁴

Leaders can empower Latinas by acknowledging this “invisible work,” recognizing the impact that it has on the organization, and leveraging support via this avenue. Knowing who your stakeholders are and supporting them as they move forward projects, ideas, and goals is a great skill as a leader. 

Call to Action: Empowering the Next Generation

This article is both a reflection and a call to action. To my Latina colleagues: Your presence in leadership is both a challenge and a triumph. Continue to build networks, advocate for yourself, and mentor the next generation. To institutions: The work of equity is not optional. The success of your Latina leaders is a reflection of your commitment to justice and progress.

The research underscores the importance of tackling obstacles, including the lack of mentorship, sponsorship, underrepresentation, and systemic racism, to enhance the success and promotion of women to senior executive roles.³⁵ There is a pressing need to address the lack of diversity in leadership, particularly in terms of gender and racial disparities at senior levels.³⁶ Dismantling the barriers that hinder women's career progression compared to that of their male counterparts allows more women to aspire to advance in their careers without having to choose between family life and professional growth.³⁷

In sharing these stories, I hope to inspire both awareness and action. Together, we can create a higher education landscape where professional neglect is replaced by professional empowerment and where Latinas are celebrated as the changemakers they are.

Endnotes

¹ Muñoz-Isme, Z. M. (2024). This Is How We Do It: An Exploratory Study of the Recruitment and Retention of Latinas in Senior Executive Roles at Predominantly White Private Institutions in the Greater New York Area (Doctoral dissertation, Southern New Hampshire University).

² Bransberger, P., Falkenstern, C., & Lane, P. (2020). Knocking at the College Door Projections of High School Graduates. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Retrieved from www.knocking.wiche.edu.

³ Fincher, M., Katsinas, S., & Bush, V. B. (2010). Executive Management Team Demography and Minority Student Retention: Does Executive Team Diversity Influence the Retention of Minority Students? Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 11(4), 459-481. https://doi.org/10.2190/CS.11.4.b.  

⁴ Sánchez, B., Salazar, C., & Guerra, J. (2021). 'I feel like I have to be the Whitest version of myself': Experiences of Early Career Latina Higher Education Administrators. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(4), 592-602.

⁵ Castellanos, E. (2021). Still We Rise: How Latina Leaders Work to Advance Equity in Higher Education (Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Fresno).

⁶ Muñoz-Isme.

⁷ Field, E., Krivkovich, A., Kügele, S., Robinson, N., & Yee, L. (2023, October 5). Women in the Workplace 2023. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace-2023.

⁸ Muñoz-Isme.

⁹ Bernal, D. D. (2002). Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Theory, and Critical Race-Gendered Epistemologies: Recognizing Students of Color as Holders and Creators of Knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 105-126.

¹⁰ Gonzáles-Figueroa, E., & Young, A. M. (2005). Ethnic Identity and Mentoring Among Latinas in Professional Roles. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11, 213–226.

¹¹ Liu, D. (2022). Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work. Zondervan. 

¹² Muñoz-Isme.

¹³ Ibid.

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ Ibid.

¹⁶ Hill, L. H., & Wheat, C. A. (2017). The Influence of Mentorship and Role Models on University Women Leaders’ Career Paths to University Presidency. The Qualitative Report, 22(8), 2090-2111.

¹⁷ Hill & Wheat.

¹⁸ Nuñez, A. M., & Murakami-Ramalho, E. (2012). The Demographic Dividend: Why the Success of Latino Faculty and Students Is Critical. Retrieved from www.aaup.org/article/demographic-dividend.

¹⁹ Valerio, A.M., & Sawyer, K. (2016). The Men Who Mentor Women. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/12/the-men-who-mentor-women.

²⁰ Muñoz-Isme.

²¹ General Assembly. (2019). 6 Challenges for Female Business Leaders. Retrieved from https://generalassemb.ly/blog/6-challenges-female-business-leaders/. 

²² Muñoz-Isme.

²³ Mena, J. A., & Vaccaro, A. (2017). “I’ve struggled, I’ve battled”: Invisibility Microaggressions Experienced by Women of Color at a Predominantly White institution. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, 10(3), 301-318.

²⁴ Reay, D. (1998). Higher Education Leadership: Analyzing the Gender Gap. Studies in Higher Education, 23(3), 361.

²⁵ Rodsky, E. (2021). Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live). Penguin.

²⁶ Coyle, D. (2019). The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. RH Business Books. 

²⁷ Ibid.

²⁸ Muñoz-Isme.

²⁹ Ibid.

³⁰ Ibid.

³¹ Kalita, S. M. (2023, September 26). How to End the Unfairness of Invisible Work. Time. Retrieved from https://time.com/charter/6317237/how-to-end-the-unfairness-of-invisible-work/.

³² Ibid.

³³ Muñoz-Isme.

³⁴ Kalita.

³⁵ Pritchard, A., & McChesney, J. (2018). Focus on Student Affairs, 2018: Understanding Key Challenges Using CUPA-HR Data. College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

³⁶ Ibid.

³⁷ Muñoz-Isme.