Honoring our Heritage

According to the 2013 U.S. Census, there are approximately 54 million Hispanics in the United States, making up the largest minority in the nation at about 17 percent of the population. The month from September 15th to October 15th is celebrated as National Hispanic Heritage Month, in celebration of Hispanic heritage, history, and contributions. It first began in 1968 when Congress passed a resolution to honor Hispanic heritage on a national level. Why start it mid-month? The 15th of September is a memorable date as it marks the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

This year’s theme is Honoring our Heritage. Building our Future. At Symantec, this month’s theme is particularly relevant as we continuously strive for a more diverse workforce that will support the needs of our global clients and induce innovation within our business lines.

We are in the process of launching a comprehensive talent strategy to promote and increase the diversity of our workforce and educate diverse communities on STEM through a variety of initiatives. HOLA, Symantec’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group, is committed to strengthening the Hispanic community’s interest in the STEM fields, and additionally, we are working hard to open doors for students interested in STEM careers, through our recently launched SC3 signature program.

Highlighting a Hispanic STEM Hero

As part of our Diversity & Inclusion communications, we have been highlighting diverse heroes and heroines in tech and in broader American and Global culture.  We’re launching Hispanic Heritage Month this year with a feature of Dr. Ellen Ochoa is the Director of the Johnson Space Center, home of NASA’s International Space Station missions. Ochoa is not only the first Hispanic director of the renowned space center, but also the first Hispanic women to enter space. The nine-day mission on the space shuttle Discovery was completed in 1993 and she has since logged almost 1,000 hours in orbit during four different space flights. The Stanford alum was a research engineer and inventor prior to her career as an astronaut. Throughout the coming month, we will be highlighting other inspiring Hispanic figures in technology, the arts, and politics on our internal chat forum.

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Creating Hispanic Community at Symantec –HOLA

Symantec’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group, HOLA, has a mission to assist Symantec in achieving its goal of building a work environment that supports and encourages Hispanic employees in their career aspirations, expanding the talent pool, and enhancing Symantec’s reputation as a great diverse workplace. HOLA brings this mission to life by creating opportunities for networking, mentoring and supporting Hispanic employees; by engaging in outreach to the Hispanic Community; and by exposing other Symantec employees to the Hispanic culture through cultural events.

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HOLA’s Annual Soccer Tournament in Heathrow, FL.

If you’re interested in learning more about HOLA or other Employee Resource Groups, contact us at global_diversity@symantec.com.