Currently the senior manager for internal controls and financial reporting at Spectrum Brands, Tania Ibarra is also the president of the Latino Professionals Association of Greater Madison, an organization she helped found in 2013. Through her career Tania has participated and played different roles in many diversity and inclusion initiatives at the various companies and organizations she has served. She was recently recognized as a 40 under 40 Outstanding Professional by InBusiness Magazine and as one of the 35 M-Listers for social innovation from Madison Magazine for her collaboration with Step UP: Equity Matters.
Rank your Top Five MCs. Hmm… after I googled what this question is about I am thinking I need to skip. I don’t follow this list and thinking I am culturally not well versed on this.
Which motivates you more: doubters or supporters? My motivation doesn’t come from others. So I will say neither. That being said, I respond better to positive feedback. It builds on my internal motivation and allows me to see new possibilities. I am also not one to discount doubters; I think they can be great at helping one see blind spots. In terms of team building, I seek supporters of course. Doubters tend to kill team morale. If a team second-guesses what we can accomplish together then it won’t get done.
What does it mean to be a Latina in Madison? I didn’t think of myself as “Latina In Madison” until maybe six years ago. Before then I was just going about my business working on my career, volunteering where I could and attending all kinds of different events. It wasn’t until I attended a national conference that was planned for Latinos in Finance and Accounting that I realized that my cultural heritage and my professional life were separated. I also started to be part of management teams at that time and it was then that I started to see the impact cultural working preferences have in someone’s career. I learned to see how those preferences impact the way performance is evaluated. Allow me to give you an example that I often share at Step Up for Equity workshops. I was part of the management team when our options for a new hire were an Asian woman and a white male. I learned through this process that the way leadership skills are evaluated benefit the white male. Asian culture is a bit more reserved and respectful, they never interrupt (at least the ones I have worked with), they tend to wait to be invited. A white male is more aggressive about positioning themselves, talking about themselves. There was not a significant difference between the two in terms of their ability to get the job done, but the cultural preferences towards white male gave him the edge. It was then when I started thinking that my humble approach to my career may in the end only allow me to get so far. I started to get more comfortable about talking about what I bring to the table and the high value I provide to teams.
I think the main thing about being Latina in Madison is that as someone who comes from a different country and culture, my context is very different from the context of people I work with and relate to. This of course is not exclusive to majority cultures; it also applies to minority cultures. Whenever I engage in conversations I have to provide education to people about where I come from and how my views were shaped so that they can begin to understand my points of view.
It also means that the unfortunate truth is that Latinas pay a high price when it relates to the intersection of gender and ethnic inequities. We are the lowest paid employees for the same work according to labor statistics. So as a representative of this intersection, a woman who is a Latina, I have the responsibility to utilize my spaces of influence and affluence to improve inequities that impact Latinas’ lives. I have this crazy idea that if we were to have a mandate to address the pay equity gap and the outcome is that our pay will then be adjusted, then we will likely change poverty rates across the board for all women, including Latinas, Black and White women. I mean this isn’t that hard to do, but we lack the will to do it. Half of Madison trying to change poverty in Madison and develop programs, and yet I don’t hear any single entity that is working on poverty put pay equity as the number one priority. We treat poverty rather than re-think how to permanently change it.
What three leaders in Madison under 50 have impressed you the most? I am going to change this question and focus not on leaders who’ve impressed me, but who have taught me, and also I am going to focus on leaders under 30. My experience in Madison is that in the last year or so somehow I have surged to be recognized as a leader. I find this quite interesting because at my core I am the same Tania I was when I joined the Centro Hispano Board as Treasurer more than five years ago. I also know that the people responsible for me being recognized as a leader are not necessarily the established leaders Madison turns to. No, those who challenged me to step up and officially occupy a position/title of leadership were non-established leaders. They are also less egocentric and therefore are more focused on the mission than their personal agendas. Lastly, this election has taught me that it is our youth, and new generations, that are willing to think about issues differently. As a result, to keep me grounded and true to my work I am going to be intentional not to only look to established leaders but to focus on empowering those young leaders. I want to support their journey, accelerate their development and follow them to their peak. I wholeheartedly believe this is where change will come from.
Leslie Orrantia, UW Director of Community Relations: I had the pleasure and privilege to have watched Leslie grow into her roles within the Latino Community, UW-Madison and the larger community. I learned a great deal from Leslie as to what it is like to be a second-generation Latina. Her openness to share, helped me better relate and understand the greater Latinx population. In the Latinx community there can be some conflict between first generation and second generation. As a first generation myself being able to understand the second generation is important to fulfill my role. She also taught me to see the microaggressions. I am kind of naïve in that sense. I am not quick to pick up on those microaggressions. Spending time with her helped me be more aware and help people be more aware of the microaggression. In a way I am a better advocate because of her. Lastly, her passion and strategy to change systems is second to none. She navigates, positions, and more often than not creates change. The changes sometimes are small but they are so long lasting and widespread and as she continues to build her career, I know she will be making history as someone who has made systems work for all people.
Stephanie Munoz: She reminds me so much of myself at her age, not because we are the same, but because when you meet her you know she is going to get to where she wants to be and you better either get with it or get out of her way. You will never see her hold back her thoughts; she is reliable and accountable and smart. I realize I am sort of complimenting myself when I compliment her. However, I am so grateful to have her on my team because I know that she will keep me on my toes and keep our team focused and true to our work. I am grateful that Madison somewhat retained her. Madison needs to continue to provide young people like her with opportunities. We need to make Madison a place where young talented people choose to stay. I know that when she joined LPA she told us she will be part of our team until she leaves Madison. We were like, we’ll take any time you will give us and I am just thrilled she is doing a second term and we put her in a position that she couldn’t say no and therefore stayed in Madison. I am happy to report also that she is enjoying Madison more now. When people ask me what LPA is about, this is one of my favorite success stories. Talent retention and leadership development. She now serves on the YWCA board.
Laura P. Minero: I don’t have as close of a relationship with Laura as with Leslie and Stephanie. I wanted to recognized her because her willingness to tell her story so openly in order to give her community visibility allowed me to think about the impact of people knowing that they are not alone in the struggle. When someone tells their story there are possible negative consequences that can happen to the individual. People unfortunately are so susceptible to pre-judgement that what happens is that when they read about your life then they attached all their unconscious biases to you and will treat you differently. She pretty much was willing to risk everything so that she can give voice to her community. Further, she truly leads from the heart. I had the pleasure to get to know her a little bit more and wow! She has quite the intellect and no ego what so ever. There are so many of us that don’t dare to be that vulnerable to protect ourselves. She is a great source of courage.
What’s the biggest stumbling block in Madison to turning the corner on our racial disparities? That we focus on the wrong things. Racial disparities are not the problem, they are the result of many other issues. The heightened focus on inequities and outcomes rather than root causes prevent us from solving anything. For example, I never hear anyone focus on resource allocation and what our budgeting preferences say about our priorities and our willingness to provide everyone with equitable access to opportunities. It is interesting for me to watch how we have what appears to be limitless resources to build infrastructure for entrepreneurs and business and yet we can’t have quality child care for all. I have watched how the same City that gets behind StartingBlock, for example, but can’t get behind at the same level for One City Early Learning Center. I mean StartingBlock’s capital budget is five times larger than One City. Which means if the same effort you put behind StartingBlock is behind One City you technically could have five child care centers.
I think the irony is that we spend so much time and energy focusing on the disparities that there is not much left to actually focus on the solution.
What are your top three priorities at this point in your life?
To live my life in fulfillment – This means that I intentionally allocate my time in a way that honors my values, principles, and ethics. I maintain that you can only give to others what you have so in order for me to be a good mother, wife, daughter, and friend I need to maintain my physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
To build capacity, be a better version of yesterday – I have always believed in leading by example. Thus, in order to build capacity in others I have to continue to build my own capacity. This is about not limiting myself. I have never thought of limits but I think as you get older you get more cautious because you know what can happen. Having goals to be better that yesterday also allows me to focus on internal development and not get distracted by the external world
To play more — I am one of those people who enjoys work more than I like to admit. So prioritizing play time helps me ensure I am dedicating time to enjoy the good things in life with family and friends.
More and more people are concerned about the Black and Brown divide. Do you believe there is a black and brown divide and if so how do we help to bridge that divide? I don’t necessarily think we are divided. I think Madison has too many individual agendas. So not necessarily against each other but unwilling to be all together.
I feel sometimes Madison can’t think of issues comprehensively. For example, let’s take the achievement gap. I don’t see us having a conversation about ensuring the school systems offers opportunity for every child to reach their potential. Instead, I hear about how Black children don’t do as well as White, or how Latinos don’t so as well as White and then we compare Latinos vs. Black. I just don’t know why we can’t have one program that can help all achieve what they need to achieve and we create a cumbersome, non-transparent infrastructure that only those who have intimate knowledge and relationships can navigate. To clarify I know we all have cultural barriers but what I don’t see is the umbrella organizations, which are often in charge of resource allocation, have comprehensive approach. They subcontract down to others and may not have the ability to measure across the board.
It is also fascinating that when we talk diversity in this town it is often synonym for Black vs White. We forget that diversity is cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual preference, etc etc. So what I try to do is to find ways to expand the discussion and broaden the focus. I attend events from multiple organizations, through LPA we seek to form mutual benefiting partnerships. Maybe it is my finance and accounting background, but I think about partnerships as a business transaction. What do I bring to the table and what value do I provide. I try to stay away from “feel good” arrangements. I also know that in order to have structural and systematic change we are stronger together, that no one wins when one of us loses. So you will not find me advocating on behalf of one community per se, I advocate to address the root cause and try new things because what we have been doing in the past has not worked, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.
A lot of the leaders who are running Latino organizations in Madison seem to be Latina. Why do you think that is? You mean non-profits that served Latinos are run by Latinas? Well except of course Omega school and BBBS. I don’t have a clue. What I don’t understand is how other organizations that seek to diversify often say they can’t find Latino talent. We have plenty of talent. It may not come in the same box that they expect but is talent nonetheless.
Name three politician in the United States you admire and why? None. LOL. I just don’t know enough about any of them. I think we need to think of politics based on issues rather than parties or people running. Politics need to be less of a popularity contest.
Everyone has a personal brand, whether they know it or not. What do you want people to think or perceive about you? Well, I think my personal brand is about competence, problem solving and luchadora. I am here to do a job. I will be honest and real. I have somewhat struggled with the fact that when organizations ask me to be at the table they expect me to go along. I challenge conventional thinking. As a result, sometimes I am not invited back. I am ok with that. I would rather focus my time and effort with people and organizations that are committed to make real change. I rather be part of something real than be used as a token of diversity to check someone’s box.
What do you enjoy the most about being the President of the Latino Professionals Association? My team and our members. I loved learning about their stories. They are jewels to me, great stories with so much inspiration. I believe that the most important resource we have is our human capital. So I feel honored to be working on building and developing our human capital. I look back and see our growth both individually and collectability and it gives me hope that we are preparing ourselves to fill roles of leadership and affect change in a comprehensive way.
Fear or Love, which one if implemented has a bigger impact on making change in today’s society? Love, of course. Only love is patient and passionate enough to make sacrifices for the long-term success of our humanity. Real love that puts aside our own interests for the betterment of next generations. I think about my mom often when it comes to love. She really taught me about love, the type of love that frees you. My mom love me so much that when I was five she found the strength to send me to a City in Ecuador to get better education. Now that I have children, I understand how much that was an act of love. She did it to better my chances at a better life and give me outstanding educational opportunities I couldn’t have in the little town we lived. She had to give up seeing her oldest daughter everyday. Now if we all could love like that, make the tough decisions when they don’t serve our individual interest. It is at that point that we will start seeing greater collaboration, sustainable change, and overall a more integrated and aligned community.
