Alfredo Mendez is a minority within a minority in the US, and the significance of that became apparent eight years ago when he participated in an executive leadership program for future successors on cultivating strategy. Of the 40 program participants, not only was he the only gay man, but he was also the only individual of Hispanic descent. “That’s when I realized, ‘If we are the future leaders, and 29 of us are [straight] white males, this is a little bit problematic, right?’” he says.
That experience drove him to become more involved in human resources and, specifically, diversity, equity and inclusion, which eventually led to him joining global talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half in 2021 as vice president of experience and inclusion. He brings more than 18 years of experience to conceptualizing and strategizing on the future of work, including talent and DE&I strategy implementation and measurement.
He previously spent four years at infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, where he formulated the company’s DE&I strategy. Two of his main objectives — to increase women in leadership and introduce employee network groups — were accomplished during his tenure. Mendez has also worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies including Raytheon, Levi Strauss and Warner Bros, assisting with their talent and DE&I initiatives.
Today, his focus at Robert Half is on inclusion. “The I in DE&I is the most important side of the house,” he says. “The endgame for Robert Half is to build a corporate culture of belonging — when every single person feels like they belong, you can really bring your whole self to work.”
Mendez also serves on HR.com’s diversity advisory board and has helped drive HR.com’s inclusion and equity research. Many organizations don’t explore diversity beyond gender and race, he notes. The research “gives us the opportunity to open the conversation on how we continue to drive and sustain this work for all. How do we measure initiatives going forward? What are the new innovations that we need to be doing in this space?” He hopes these questions prompt deeper involvement as companies plan for 2023.
2023 DE&I Influencers List