07 Feb Men at Work: A Remarkable Journey
From Honduras to Boston to the NFL, State Street’s Paul Francisco has parlayed his life experiences toincrease diverse representation and foster inclusion
By Jackie Krentzman
When State Street Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Paul Francisco was 17, he traveled with his family from Honduras to the United States to visit relatives and go Christmas shopping. The night before they were to go home, his grandmother and mother told him that, instead of returning to Honduras, he was going to stay with his aunt in Boston, where he would learn English and get a good education.
That moment completely changed Francisco’s life trajectory and worldview. In Boston, he immediately encountered his first of many brushes with racism. He also excelled at school and earned a football scholarship to Boston University.
Francisco joined the NFL as a free agent and played for three seasons. While in the NFL, he earned his executive MBA from the Harvard Business School. After leaving the NFL, he returned to Boston, where he pondered law school. Then a friend suggested he apply for a job as a claims adjustor. Francisco had no idea what that even was. But he landed the position and has worked in the corporate sector ever since—largely in the recruiting, HR, and DEI space—for Gillette, Bank of America, Fidelity, and, for the past 13 years, at the international financial service company State Street.
Diversity Woman: Tell us about coming to the United States from Honduras at age 17, and how that has framed your life and career.
Paul Francisco: My journey here was pivotal in how I began to think about the world, in particular how people are afforded and able to take advantage of opportunities.
Only when I arrived in Boston did I become aware that my skin color would present a challenge, and that bothered me. I had come from an experience where my skin color had not been front and center or mattered to my survival or success.
One particular incident led to this revelation. Shortly after arriving, my aunt had to go to work and I was home alone with my younger cousins. [My aunt] said, “If you have to go out, make sure you don’t go into South Boston.” At the time, Southie wasn’t considered a welcoming place for people of color, but I didn’t know this. I asked why, and she said, “They don’t like people like us.” That stuck with me—my life would be in danger if I ventured there.
Being put into that situation at 17, in which I was judged for the color of my skin, led to me becoming aware of the American civil rights movement and the long struggle for equality, and I became determined to do something instrumental in this space.
But at that young age, I didn’t know how this passion would show up in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew is that whatever I decided to pursue, it would be in service to marginalized people. At first, I thought that the best way to have such an impact was as a civil rights lawyer. I graduated from Boston University, then thought I would go to law school. As life has it, things changed.
DW: At this point, you signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins. How did your three years in the NFL shape you?
PF: Playing football in college and then the NFL taught me a perspective that I applied throughout my career. Football was a diverse world. I was part of teams that came together from different races, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet we came together as a unit, a beautiful unit. Our identities were as celebrities and we were honored—but it was our skill set, passion, and ability to learn that was centered.
When I moved from football into the corporate world [at Amica Mutual Insurance Co.], I had that perspective, one that wasn’t the norm in this new sector. I had assumed I would become part of a team, and there would be others who looked like me, and we would all come together and help our team win. But that was not the case. I was the only male of color of 72 people in my underwriting and claims class.
That bothered me. I asked, “Why?” I was told, “We can’t find people like you.” I didn’t like that answer. I asked, “Where are you looking? If you don’t know where, I can help you.” That led me to volunteer going to career fairs [and] college campuses, to recruit more men and women who looked like me. A year later, I was asked to join the HR recruiting team. That launched my career in the recruiting space. I found my passion.
DW: What are a couple of DEI initiatives that you oversee at State Street that are making an impact?
PF: In 2020 we launched our 10 Actions to Address Racism and Inequality. The focus was how to build equity for the BIPOC employees at State Street. As a result, we have moved the needle around representation, supplier diversity, board representation, and more. This adoption has also led to a culture shift in how the organization thinks about equitable policies and practices.
The other initiative I am very proud of is the comprehensive independent Civil Rights Audit of the company. It focused on our policies, products, clients, and impact on the community. Ten internal- and external-facing recommendations came out of that audit that we are in the process of implementing.
DW: How best can men support woman in their leadership journey? How does that play out at State Street?
PF: We have the ability, even responsibility, in male-dominated industries, to be allies to women, especially women of color. To me, allyship is a very intentional commitment to sharing power, to leveraging your power, to building platforms for the benefit of others.
Allyship is also about empathy. It requires being selfless in terms of understanding we are all better when women thrive. It is our responsibility to leverage our male privilege. From wherever we sit, we need to make sure we have interventions. We must make sure we afford the space to women—particularly those whose voices perhaps aren’t heard but should be—to have the floor in circles of influence and power.
I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for many women who furthered my career and allowed me to be the persona and contributor I have become. I am going to always use my influence to make sure I do the same.
DW: Describe some leadership lessons you learned at a young age, and how your upbringing influenced your choice of career and the work you do today.
PF: Very early in life I learned to be flexible and adaptable. I learned things will never go the way you anticipate, and your ability to be successful depends on how you respond to adversity. I did not know I would come to the US and be almost literally dropped here to figure things out myself. I believe I succeeded because I took chances, was flexible and adaptable, had a curiosity about the world, and had a growth mentality.
The other lesson I learned early was the concept of humility. We don’t know what we don’t know. That is an opportunity to be informed, ask questions, and learn. Having the capacity to admit you don’t know it all—the humility to recognize that my beliefs, values, and cultures are not necessarily that of others—is to be accepted and embraced.
DW: What are you most proud of in your years at State Street?
PF: I am proud of the organization’s desire and commitment to do this work well. We are making a mark in the corporate world, leading the way in some cases, and we are recognized by our peers for this leadership.
I am proud of how the company has embraced my style of leadership, my counsel, and allows me to do what I feel is best for the organization. I’m proud of the culture we built around DEI and of the company’s values that we live daily in our work. I am proud of the many lives we have impacted in this work, inside State Street and in the community. State Street is a place people feel celebrated, included, and empowered, and where they can have a great career. DW
“Very early in life I learned to be flexible and adaptable … your ability to be successful depends on how you respond to adversity.”
