Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, we caught up with Mary McNiff, Citi's Chief Auditor, and Anita Romero, General Counsel for Citi's Global Consumer Bank and Citibank N.A., for an inside look at their new roles as affinity Co-leads and how the Hispanic/Latino affinity group at Citi recognized and celebrated the month.

Why are you excited to be leading the Hispanic/Latino Affinity at Citi?

Mary: As a British female of Irish descent, I realize some might find me an odd choice to be a Co-leader for the Hispanic/Latino affinity group. However, I've always been passionate about Diversity and Inclusion and I have a deep love for Hispanic culture and the passion displayed by so many people of Hispanic/Latino descent. I had the opportunity to experience both during my time working in Latin America and Mexico in my last role. Working in the region also helped me to understand the value of bringing diverse ideas and backgrounds to the table, allowing us to tackle business issues from all different angles. That's why I'm so excited to be leading the Hispanic/Latino Affinity group -- to celebrate the Hispanic/Latino culture, and serve as a trusted, cross-cultural partner and advocate for the advancement of our inclusion agenda.

Anita: With the Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. continuing to grow rapidly – by 2045 it is expected to reach 24.6% -- the opportunity to directly influence Citi's diversity and inclusion initiatives as a Co-lead of the affinity group is more valuable than ever. Mary and I, as well as our steering committee members, are all passionate about Diversity and Inclusion and are excited and energized by the opportunities we see for our Hispanic/Latino affinity group.

What are some initial objectives for the Affinity?

Anita: We're focused on aligning our priorities with each of the affinity group's three pillars: Hire More, Promote More, Retain More; Advocate and Engage; and Grow and Sustain. By increasing our focus on recruitment, development, and promotion, we plan to make the most of the value that Hispanics/Latinos bring to Citi. We're also focused on developing internal talent, which is why we're exploring ways to help prepare our Hispanic/Latino employees to both grow stronger in their current roles and take on new, challenging ones. Our goal is also to advance equality for Hispanics/Latinos in education, finance, and opportunity through community efforts. Our partnerships with groups like Cities for Citizenship, Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera -- to name a few -- are all critical in this area.

As we look back on Hispanic Heritage month what were some of the highlights from across the network?

Mary: I was in Tampa to kick off the celebrations there, and now I'm looking forward to visiting Dallas to close out their Hispanic Heritage Month festivities with Lotería! I'm also excited that we're focusing on network programing throughout the year and that we have several exciting speakers lined up for Q4.

For more on our affinity model, visit Citi Diversity.