At Best Buy, we celebrate the diverse identities, experiences and cultures of the Latinx community within our company and across the country — and not just during Latinx Heritage Month.
We support the Latinx community and are committed to closing the STEM gap and helping build a stronger, more vibrant tech industry with more diverse innovators. In short, we want more Latinx voices at the table.
“As a company, we want to create a culture that embraces and celebrates each individual’s unique background,” said Mark Irvin, our chief inclusion, diversity and talent officer. “When employees feel safe to bring their whole selves to work each day, they are more likely to succeed, grow and innovate. That’s what we want for all of our employees.”
Last June, we said we would “do better,” and over the last year we have shared actions we are taking to better address underrepresentation, technology inequities and educational and career opportunities for those who need it most. Some of that work includes committing more than $44 million to diversity, inclusion and community efforts and pledging $10 million to build a new network of opportunities for youth in disinvested communities in Los Angeles.
Additionally, we continue to support our Latinx Employee Resource Group (ERG), which plays a vital role in recruitment and advancement of underrepresented employees.
Taking action
Here are some of the ways we’re proud to support our Latinx employees and communities:
- We are working toward filling one out of three new non-hourly corporate positions with BIPOC employees, including Latinx employees.
- Over the next two years, we’ve committed to hiring more than 1,000 new employees to our technology team with 30% of them being diverse, specifically Black, Latinx, Indigenous and women.
- We signed the ParityPledge in Support of People of Color. It’s a public commitment to interview at least one qualified person of color for every open leadership role that is at the vice president level or higher, including the C-suite and board of directors.
- By 2025, we will provide $44 million to expand college prep and career opportunities for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) students and increase scholarship funding for Teen Tech Center youth in markets like El Paso, Texas, and Los Angeles, California.
- A minimum of 30% of our paid advertising will feature BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and diverse abilities cast members and family structures. We also made a commitment that 25% of production crew members will meet those criteria by 2023.
Celebrating Latinx culture
As part of our broader celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, we’re sharing a variety of stories that celebrate Latinx culture and heritage.
Those stories highlight:
- Latinx leaders from around the company who shared what being Latinx means to them.
- Four students from Best Buy Teen Tech Centers who designed PopSockets products that we’re selling on BestBuy.com as part of our Latinx Heritage Month campaign.
- An employee in Puerto Rico whose career journey took her from being a cashier to now being a Geek Squad manager who leads a team of 35 Geek Squad Agents.
- A general manager — and proud Dominican American — who just opened a new store in the Bronx neighborhood she calls home.
- A Best Buy employee who was inspired by her own son to write a children’s book that celebrates the joys of being bilingual.
Click here to view our Latinx Heritage Month landing page on BestBuy.com.