Silencing Gender, Age, Ethnicity and Cultural Biases in Leadership

Book excerpt: Silencing Gender, Age, Ethnicity and Cultural Biases in Leadership is an edited volume containing eight chapters, each a real-life account from a Latina in a leadership position in the United States. These women discuss how their professional goals may conflict with their culture’s expectations for them, and they describe the complexity of life choices for Latinas in the workplace, including their struggles in challenging such social assumptions. Although some of the contributors come from Latin American countries and others were born in the United States, all eight women share similar backgrounds in regards to gender, age, ethnicity, or other forms of cultural biases they have encountered in both their professional and social experiences. The theme presented in this book is extremely relevant to the modern workplace—not only where men and women of different ages, ethnic, and religious backgrounds come together, attempting to be effective in their professional setting, but also where biases that try to silence minorities still prevail. This book is not a compilation of victimizing stories; on the contrary, it serves as a statement of success despite adversities.