Host Brenda Darden Wilkerson is joined by speaker, author, founder, and DEI advocate, Yai Vargas, in this episode of “B the Way Forward.” Yai’s big belief that “women are the heart and soul of an organization” rings true in everything she does and stands for. Yai tells Brenda about her personal journey as a woman from the Dominican Republic who immigrated to the United States at an early age and realized quickly how important it was to connect with her Latin roots. After landing what she thought was her dream job, Yai opens up about her disappointment when noticing the gap of diversity in her workplace. She tells Brenda that executive roles need to be more representative of the US population – only about 5% of corporate board positions are held by Hispanics.

This experience led Yai to make a professional career change, pivot entirely to the world of DEI, and build “The Latinista,” a national network for professional Latinas and women of color invested in skills development and career mobility. Yai is known as the “LinkedIn Networking Ninja” and together, Yai and Brenda discuss the importance of community and how to use your own network to bring people together. 

“We all start from somewhere. And even though some corporations have been around for 150 years, it's our journey of figuring out how our business is evolving with the inclusion of what demographic is going to work with us, in our community.”

For more, check out Yai and the Latanista ...

On LinkedIn - /yaivargas

On the Web - www.TheLatinista.com | www.YaiVargas.com

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At AnitaB.org, we envision a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it. Find out more about how we support women, non-binary individuals, and other underrepresented groups in computing, as well as the organizations that employ them and the academic institutions training the next generations.

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Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services.

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B The Way Forward Is…

Produced by Dominique Ferrari and Paige Hymson

Sound design and editing by Neil Innes and Ryan Hammond 

Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski 

Associate Producer is Faith Krogulecki

Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Riveter Studios and Frequency Machine 

Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson for AnitaB.org

Podcast Marketing from Lauren Passell and Arielle Nissenblatt with Riveter Studios and Tink Media in partnership with Coley Bouschet at AnitaB.org

Photo of Brenda Darden Wilkerson by Mandisa Media Productions

For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org