In My Reality, an editorial series from D CEO, North Texas executives share their personal experiences with diversity and bias. To recommend local business leaders who may be willing to share their experiences with diversity, equity, inclusion, prejudice, or biases, please email associate editor Kelsey Vanderschoot at [email protected].
Margie Aguilar is the company lead and co-founder of ISP Creative, an Irving-based, bilingual creative agency. She shares her experiences growing up between two countries, her battle with dyslexia, her struggle to feel comfortable as a second-language English speaker in boardrooms, and her experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion in Dallas’ business sector over the past 15 years.
Seeing Different as a Superpower
“I came from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua—from Mexico—and I did part of my elementary in El Paso [and the other part of it in Mexico]…and the reason I did [part in Mexico] was that I just performed better in school in Mexico than I did in the United States. So, my parents felt like it was okay if I stayed in Mexico. They had 10 kids, and I was number nine. I was [also] dyslexic, and back then, I don’t think it was properly identified and treated or anything like that. Nonetheless, that’s my superpower because I look at things differently, and visually is where I make my money, right?”
Finding Ease in the Boardroom
“When I started with Univision, I felt really comfortable with the Spanish language—more than I did with English. So, I felt like, ‘Oh, this fits in just perfect. I’m in the perfect place.’ But when I started my business, it was really hard for me to transition into Corporate America, only because, especially back in the early 90s and late 90s, you always had a big conference room with all of these executives and professionals who have master’s degrees. I felt like ‘Oh, my gosh, here I am with my broken English.’ That was the hardest part of everything.
“I remember my mentor telling me, ‘If you can talk to God, you can talk to anyone.’ It just gave me that ease. That has followed me through my whole life, even with boards that I attend—that I’m here because I bring this new perspective and because I know and understand media so well. [Other people] are figuring it out, or they just graduated, and I’ve been doing it since I was very young and mastered that, in a way. So, I feel like ‘Yeah, I have a master’s degree in media.’…
“It absolutely has improved. I got on a board last year for the organization Young Women Preparatory Network—I’m so excited about that because it’s an all-women, all young girls, one-gender school. I felt like, again, ‘But, I don’t have a Ph.D-level education.’ But they don’t care about that Ph.D.
“They care about the work I’ve done in the community with young girls, and how I have empowered young girls, and my marketing background, and so forth. The fact that they want my mind is mind-blowing because I feel like ‘Oh, they get it!’ I feel valued. I feel that my voice is heard. I feel I represent these schools. These schools are made up of roughly 90 percent Latinas, and to not have [a Latina] on the board, or that perspective, would be off.”
The Unicorn of Warriors
“I think what corporations have learned is the fact that [women] are the unicorn. We are that special unicorn. And I think [corporations] see that, and never have they ever said anything like that or classified it, but again…We are the unicorn of warriors, or that special unicorn that is needed, that special voice that is needed.”
Moving Forward in Mainstream Media
“We’ve been in the DEI space for 15 years. We’ve been doing this, reading this, producing this. And now, it’s the thing to do. We’re excited about growing the corporations like that and building those brands in that sense, and we know it like the back of our hand. It’s so incredibly crazy, but we are very grateful. Now, [Spanish content and representation] is not the token. We’re mainstream media, and women and minorities are mainstream media as well. So, it feels good to be part of it, finally, and that the world’s moving forward in a very good direction.
“It’s a good thing. But…it’s about time. This is 2021, Corporate America. This is 2021. And I’m talking about even global companies—they’re just creating their assets and everything for those initiatives within the corporation. So, it’s about time.”
