Sazón brings the flavor for Latinx Heritage Month at Instacart

In September, we were proud to launch our newly minted Latinx ERG, Sazón, in coordination with Latinx Heritage Month.

Why Sazón?

Sazón was formed to help drive the recruitment, hiring, and retention of Latinx employees at Instacart as well as support their professional development. The ERG co-leads were inspired by the name Sazón for a few reasons — the mixture is a flavorful combination of spices that is the secret in many Latin dishes, and most importantly, its inclusivity as a gender-neutral term.

Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month

As part of the launch, the Sazón community planned a series of events and programming for Latinx Heritage Month aimed to drive awareness for the ERG as well as to honor the contributions of Latinx people. Programming included a special presentation at our monthly Company All-Hands meeting, Latin American-themed happy hours hosted across our main offices, and a spotlight on Latinx innovators in food and tech.

Sazón presents Limón Tell Ya

To close out the month, Sazón’s co-leads — Luis, Natalia, and Zilaida — hosted Limón Tell Ya, a special fireside chat for employees. The panel offered a forum for discussion around the ERG’s mission and focus, the issues that the Latinx community face in the tech industry, the importance of Latinx Heritage month and how the term “Latinx” helps foster inclusivity.

During the panel, the co-leads spoke to the challenges of the hiring process for diverse candidates honing in on the impact of unconscious bias and a lack of cultural understanding. Without removing bias, it’s possible for cultural norms to be misinterpreted by a hiring manager, and as a result, can hinder the hiring process. As Luis suggests, “you need to learn how to read between the lines as a hiring manager, interviewer, or a member of the recruiting team.”

Supporting as an ally

The panel also touched on how allies can better support the Latinx community in the workplace. To be an ally means to support and advocate on behalf of an ERG’s mission. Speak up about areas of opportunity for diversity and inclusion and seek out members of the ERG to find out how you can help support their initiatives. Another way allies can help is by opening up their network and helping to connect more Latinx candidates in open roles at Instacart, or within the broader tech industry.

We like to think we are similar to a potluck at Instacart, everyone brings something new, different and flavorful to the table. If you’re interested in joining our table, see our current openings.

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Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.