Negocios Now is the Hispanic Business Publication in Chicago with National Distribution
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www.negociosnow.com 22 Febrero 2021 NegociosNow NegociosNow By Arianna Hermosillo T he We Are All Human founda- tion ( WAAH) was created with one single purpose: to advance the agenda of diversity and inclusion in order to achieve equity. Its founder, Claudia Romo Edelman, says that while the world has made progress in seve- ral aspects, intolerance, racism, xenophobia and hate speech are disap- pointingly growing. "[We are All Human's] agenda is to move [society] from tolerance to acceptan- ce, to eliminate racism and discrimination, and to remind people that we are all human," says Romo Edleman. Previously Romo Edle- man helped make the United Nations sustaina- ble development goals famous through commu- nications and advocacy. She's applying that expe- rience to WAAH. "I like systemic change, societal change. I think that all the networking, unification, mobilization and marke- ting expertise I have really prepared me to be doing what I'm doing now." WAAH IN CONTEXT To achieve its goals the organization has core activities including buil- ding frameworks that others can key into and using marketing tactics to shift narratives of Latinos. "We want to unify the Hispanic community and we want to change the perception [of them]," says Romo Edelman. For WAAH, that looks like helping more Latinos become fully aware of their community's hef- ty contributions to the U.S., getting companies to make Latinos feel more comfortable and valued in the workpla- ce, and creating a shared agenda that leaders can push forward together. Additionally, two years ago Edelman's foundation set up a tool called the His- panic Promise. Organiza- tions sign it and promise to hire, promote, retain and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace. Originally they struggled to hit a goal of 100 companies signing on, says Romo Edelman, but since the racial equity movements and conver- sations of 2020 there's an acceleration of companies trying to course correct. This is coming as part of a larger shift, Romo Edelman says. She says companies should heed the change: "The train of purpose and sustaina- bility left the station 20 years ago. The next tra- in is called diversity and inclusion and has depar- ted already. People are not going to buy from companies that are racist or from organizations where women are mis- treated." WORKING TOWARDS A WORLD WITHOUT WAAH The way Romo Edel- man sees it, her foundation can go away once it has moved the world from tolerance to acceptan- ce. She cites smoking as an example that the world is capable of change. Tobacco advertising once had everyone con- vinced that smoking was sexy and sophisticated. Now many view smo- king as disgusting and you can even be ticketed in some public places for smoking. "It was abso- lutely acceptable until it changed and it chan- ged because it's bad for you. [The world] moved it from aspirational to unacceptable and that's what we need to do with racism and xenopho- bia," Romo Edelman says. In December of 2020 the organization hosted their Hispanic Leaders- hip Summit. During the event 2,500 leaders wor- ked together to create a shared agenda for Lati- no empowerment and upward mobility focused in three areas: educa- tion, entrepreneurship and Latina leadership. Romo Edelman invites everyone to be part of achieving that agen- da and supporting WAAH's efforts: "[Change] is going to happen. It's a decision of whether [people] want to be part of it or not." To learn more visit www. weareallhu- man.org. We Are All Human Wants to Change the World's Mind BASED ON A SIMPLE MESSAGE, AN ORGANIZATION IS TAKING ON INTOLERANCE AND AIMING TO ADVANCE LATINOS. NegociosNow NegociosNow