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Take the private sector for example. It is not diversifying its workforce just for the sake of diversity; there is often, if not always, an economic imperative at play. Our cover story, “Cultural and Linguistic Ambidexterity,” illustrates this point. At the University of Texas at El Paso, which borders Mexico, many of its students are bilingual, speaking English and Spanish fluently. This has benefited many U.S. companies that do business in Mexico. In our article, we specifically focus on bilingual engineering students who have worked in Mexico. They are an asset for not only their technical expertise, but they often serve as translators when complicated technical issues arise, able to communicate with employees from both the U.S. and Mexico firms. In addition, because many of these students are of Mexican heritage, they are able to navigate both American and Mexican cultural nuances in the workplace.
