Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15 to October 15 every year as a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community. This year’s theme is “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America.” The focus is on prosperity, power, and progress, recognizing the significant strides of Hispanics in the economic, political, and social growth of the U.S.
At The Mom Project, we’re proud to celebrate the Latino community year-round with VIVA, our employee resource group led by Angie Stratman. Yet Hispanic Heritage Month offers a dedicated time to focus on the amazing contributions of the Hispanic community.
“Hispanic Heritage Month is an incredible opportunity to speak with one voice, acknowledge the crucial role that Hispanics play in shaping the future of our country and the world, and to celebrate and recognize the Latino community and our employees. ¡VIVA LA CULTURA!" - Angie Stratman
We’re thrilled to cultivate a diverse team that helps ensure we consider all perspectives while delivering on our mission. In honor of this, we’d like to take time to recognize a few trailblazers who are among the two million plus Latina women who are shaping the future of the world with their work.
Jessica Alba, Founder, Honest Company
When Jessica Alba first started her business, she was met by opposition from a few men, who falsely believed that women who have kids don’t want to work anymore after that. This assertion shocked her, as it was having kids that inspired her to start The Honest Company and fueled her desire to work even harder. Considering what narrative fuels this myth, Alba suggested that it may come down to burnout and workplace cultures that don’t work for moms. To combat this, Alba makes it her mission to create a work environment where moms and all people can thrive, starting with recognizing the unique contributions moms bring to the workplace.
The mission of The Honest Company is clear, in the words of Alba:
“Since day one, it’s been my goal to build a diverse, inclusive, and ethical company based on values of transparency, trust, sustainability, and a deep sense of purpose in all we do.”
They make a variety of clean, sustainable products for moms, babies, and anyone interested in environmentally friendly living.
Ronit Shiro, CEO and Founder, Feppy
Growing up bilingual, Ronit Shiro recognized the immense importance of bilingualism in passing down culture, connecting with family, and creating more opportunities for the future. For Shiro, “Language is so much more than words - it's a dynamic confluence of open minds, global cultures, and the basis of connection.” Becoming a mother solidified her belief that bilingualism has the power to open doors, and the idea for Feppy was born.
Feppy provides unique, fun ways for families to raise bilingual children with award-winning books, games, toys, and more that help kids practice English and Spanish at home. Offering both resources for individual purchase and carefully curated subscription boxes, Feppy encourages learning for children at a critical age for language acquisition.
Alejandra Márquez Abella is a writer and director from Mexico who became inspired to tell the story of José Hernández’s journey from starting as a migrant farmworker in California to becoming an astronaut with NASA. After reading a draft of the story several years ago, she was inspired by José’ story and knew she had to bring it to life on the big screen to share with the rest of the world.
One of the biggest challenges she knew she would be up against in making the movie was translating a dream to visual storytelling. Yet the opportunity to make the film, her first in English, was a dream in and of itself for Márquez Abella. The way to do so, she discovered, was to lean into her heritage:
"You have to face your origins, you have to be true to what you are. It's because of his field origins that José became an astronaut. He was a migrant farmworker who actually became an astronaut because of that, not despite of it."
Karla Gallardo, Co Founder, Cuyana
Karla Gallardo spent her childhood in Ecuador, where she learned the importance of having fewer things of better quality that would last. This experience planted the seed for the driving purpose behind Cuyana, “a women-built, heritage-led company offering fewer, better collections that embody timeless design, luxury quality, and sustainability.” After working in investment banking for a stint, Gallardo pursued her MBA at Stanford, where she met her co-founder Shilpa Shah. Driven by the same passion to do creative, impactful work, the two bonded over their unique immigrant journeys and how their experiences shaped their business approaches.
Today, Gallardo embraces her heritage, celebrating it as an integral part of her story: "I once shied away from being labeled as Latin American, because although I was proud of my background, I didn’t want my cultural roots to define my entire story...Now, I see how my background and story is proof for other Latin American females that they are worthy of the position they’ve worked for. Now, I see that as minorities, we had to work twice as hard in order to get recognition or support from the most powerful people in those rooms we entered along the way.”
We’re so excited to celebrate these amazing women’s success stories. They are just a few of the millions of Latinos who are advancing business in the U.S. and empowering a better future for women across the world.