As Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and Marketing Officer at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, Monica Gil oversees marketing, corporate affairs, and the entire company's operations.

Gil helped coordinate a recent Telemundo survey, in partnership with Hispanics Organized for Political Equality and Latino Victory Foundation, that shows how Latinas are making massive strides in entrepreneurship, homeownership, and more.

The results show that Latinas are ‘200 percenters’: She is 100 percent American and 100 percent Latina, and she feels very comfortable living in two worlds. She feels a desire and a responsibility to be both — and that has allowed Latinas to activate their voice... [They] have the resiliency and ability to create opportunities for themselves even in the most difficult times — often the first women in our families to purchase homes, to make these big decisions, to push forward in this way.
Monica Gil
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and Marketing Officer at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises

Read more about the poll and Gil’s insights in the Know Your Value article.

The survey also reflected the disproportionate economic impact from Covid-19 that Latinas are facing. Gil spoke about this work-life juggle and her personal journey as a guest on MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski’s Know Your Value “Women in Charge” series. Read excerpts from the conversation below to learn more.

Q: How have you adjusted to your new role as EVP, chief administrative and marketing officer for NBCU Telemundo?

A: As my career has evolved, I have realized that your skills are transferable, even if you are in a new role. So, it’s important not to underestimate your skill set when you’re in a different job. You just have to be confident in your own skin and adapt to the new responsibilities. And for me, that’s what I've done.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of running things during the pandemic?

A: The three most significant challenges are urgency, transparency and leading with empathy.

Everything seems to take longer. For example, some tasks that took one hour now require two to three hours because people are working from home. At the beginning of the pandemic, we had to make sure that all the technology was in place so people could work effectively. But how do you do all of this while keeping a sense of urgency? We needed to communicate with transparency and leading with empathy because people are now working from home within their family dynamics. Many have kids and are being super moms.

People are now also working much longer. There are no more boundaries around work hours, so they have to find ways to schedule family time. The last thing I would say is that the pandemic has made it harder to have conversations among employees. There is no more watercooler talk, and over a screen, it’s harder to debate a topic because there may be a natural delay on a screen, or perhaps you are on mute. Bottom line, the ability to debate and have those conversations is not as easy as it would be in person.

Q: What do you think about the challenges that women are facing during this time?

A: We should really focus on what’s important and make sure our families’ safety and health become a priority. One of the things I want women to understand is that you may not always get what you want at a specific moment, but that's OK it may just mean “not yet.”

I want women who may feel helpless in their career to understand that it’s just temporary. The best way to get out of a slump is to make sure you're doing your homework. If you're in a bad situation, my advice is to get clarity and make decisions from a position of strength, not from a position of uncertainty.

Q: What are your thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month?

A: There's never been a better time to be Hispanic than now in America, despite the different challenges we are facing, despite being disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and despite the fact that Latinas receive 54 cents for every dollar that a non-Hispanic white male makes. I believe the resilience of Latinos and Latinas has never been more prominent than what we are seeing now. I’m inspired by the true definition of what Latino character is all about: it's about resilience. Latinos keep moving. No matter what, we keep moving forward. We truly are unstoppable.

Read Monica's full conversation with Mika.