As the clock strikes midnight on June 1 and company logos transform into Pride flag-themed gestures of support and solidarity, many in the LGBTQ+ community will once again wonder what is artifice and what is authentic.
Pride month is a joyous time to celebrate and reflect, but surface-level shows of goodwill ring hollow if not backed by deeper commitments to queer people.
At a time when LGBTQ+ people are increasingly subjected to harmful legislation and inflaming rhetoric, rainbow capitalism won’t cut it.
When June ends, which companies will return to the status quo and which will continue to create safer spaces, provide more opportunities and make meaningful investments for LGBTQ+ employees and causes?
Fivetran falls into the latter category. “I’m proud to work for a company where I feel empowered to bring my whole self to work well beyond the month of June,” said Director of Global Revenue Operations Jess Tillis.
Tillis shared what the company has planned for this Pride and detailed how it uplifts LGBTQ+ team members year-round.
Fivetran’s platform enables companies to take data from disparate sources — whether that’s TikTok, MariaDB or SAP — and store it in a centralized cloud warehouse for easier analysis.
What activities is Fivetran coordinating for Pride Month?
For Pride Month this year, Fivetran will celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community through educational sessions, global happy hours and drag bingo. The Pride ERG is putting on these events.
Fivetran makes this possible by allocating a budget to those events. Our Pride ERG leaders also share a Fivetran Pride Spotify playlist and a Pride virtual background. I’m excited to rep both during my June meetings!
How does your company support and empower the LGBTQIA+ members of your team?
I’m grateful that Fivetran allocates resources to celebrating Pride Month. I’m exponentially more grateful that Fivetran supports and empowers the LGBTQIA+ community during all months of the year. Carving out 30 days of the year to celebrate an individual community is a solid first step in building a diverse and inclusive community where everyone feels empowered.
But it can’t stop there.
I’m proud to work for a company where I feel empowered to bring my whole self to work well beyond the month of June.”
I’m proud to work for a company where I feel empowered to bring my whole self to work well beyond the month of June. A few ways that Fivetran supports and empowers the LGBTQIA+ community is by giving us funding and an executive sponsor to help us build community via our Pride ERG, creating safe meeting spaces where I feel comfortable talking about what I did last weekend with my wife and elevating speakers and panels to help us normalize the sharing of gender pronouns.
As Audre Lorde said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences.” Being a part of the Fivetran team gives me the space and confidence to do just that. We take small steps each day to create that reality.
