Proud about Pride: Team Rainbow reflects on Pride 2018

In the month of June, millions of people all over the world celebrated Pride. The message was clear that while there’s still much progress to be made against discrimination and inequality, the LGBTQIA+ community is a strong, vibrant, and diverse group working hard to fight for their rights and visibility (and can still have a good time doing it.)

At Asana, our queer employee resource group (ERG), Team Rainbow, took on a variety of initiatives to support the cause and its members. They wanted everyone in the community to feel supported by Asana, spark meaningful conversations, and have joyful events where they could celebrate and come together all month long. After Pride, we sat down with a few Team Rainbow members to get their reflections about the month.

What was your favorite Pride event (that you worked on or attended) and why?

“I really enjoyed our Pride Happy Hour, as so many of us came together—including many who don’t frequent Team Rainbow events, and it was great to see a bigger group really come together to enjoy themselves and support this cause.” — Crystal, Data Science

“JR (our co-founder) gave a speech at the event that hit the message of inclusion home and I felt very welcomed and comfortable in bringing my whole self to work.” — Greg, Engineering

“Escape the Closet! It was so much fun to plan, and I loved running it the day-of and seeing teams get really excited about working together, solving the puzzles and learning queer tidbits along the way.” — Elden, Infrastructure Management

“I worked on the Allyship project, which was interesting and rewarding for me to be a part of. And Michael killed it as DJ for the happy hour!” — Lily, Customer Success

“It was a special time in LQBTQ+ history in Ireland, as this year marked the 25th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality here and the 3rd anniversary of the Marriage Equality referendum passing. So The Dublin Pride Parade was especially meaningful. It was great to see us walk as Asanas together.” — Nade & Patrick, User Operations

“I loved that we had deliberate discussions about what Pride meant to us. We all come from different places, are all over the rainbow spectrum, but everybody got to tell their own stories and experiences of Pride. Some stories were side-splitting, some were heartbreaking, which speaks to the queer experience overall.” — Nikki, Marketing

What’s it like to be a part of Team Rainbow?

“You get to be a part of a beautifully and wonderfully diverse group of people with a variety of perspectives, who are simultaneously consistently warm and welcoming of each other.” — Crystal, Data Science

“It’s fabulous! Everyone is excited to share new experiences with one another, and we explore how we can have an impact on our company’s culture and on the outside LGBTQIA+ community.” — Greg, Engineering

“Being a part of Team Rainbow gives me a sense of pride in myself, my community, and my company. It makes me feel like I’m not alone, and that I can help others. For me, Team Rainbow is all about love.” — Elden, Infrastructure Management

“It’s like being hugged by a rainbow: you feel supported, and liked, for just being who you are. It’s pretty awesome.” — Steven, Mobile Engineering

How have allies, Asana, and/or Team Rainbow helped you feel supported at work?

“Team Rainbow’s meetings give me a space where I feel really comfortable not just bringing my whole self to work, but also to explore my identity in a professional context. At Asana, I don’t just feel accepted, I feel celebrated for who I am.” — Greg, Engineering

“There are so many things, but the biggest has been how Asana is an environment where I almost never get misgendered. I’ve never had that before, and it’s done wonders for my anxiety, self-confidence, and ability to deal with misgendering outside the office.” — Elden, Infrastructure Management

“As a queer copywriter, I’m honored to be entrusted with and recognized for writing pieces that amplify stories about Team Rainbow, and what our members do in and out of Asana. Plus Team Rainbow got a renowned queer spoken word artist to give a performance here…if that’s not a queer word nerd’s dream, I don’t know what is.” — Nikki, Marketing

“It was awesome for my participation in Team Rainbow to come up as a positive attribute in my manager-report review. It’s great to feel that this is part of the culture here and not just a social group that’s merely tolerated or ignored or used only as a token for the sake of diversity in recruiting materials.” — Joe, Platform

“As an ally who aspires to be a better ally, Team Rainbow has helped me learn and be better, through education, both in events, and offline through things like our “How to be a good ally” project.” — Crystal, Data Science

What advice would you give to other organizations to celebrate Pride next year?

“It’s not about money or displaying the company logo at a public event. It’s reminding people that they are supported and that pride is a protest for those voices that are lost or silent murmurs.” — Tadgh, User Operations

“Find ways to make it easy for allies to show that they celebrate their LGBTQIA+ colleagues. Pride is about being out and proud, but it’s also so reaffirming to know that your colleagues support and celebrate you.” — Greg, Engineering

“Figure out what you want pride to be about for your organization. For us, it meant a chance for the queer community to come together, and for the company to come out in support of them. So we made sure to have events that allowed queer folk to hang out, as well as for allies to show their support.” — Steven, Mobile Engineering

What’s your favorite color in the Pride flag?

 

• Red — 13%
• Orange — 12%
• Green — 13%
• Purple — 37%
• Who could pick just one!? — 25%

 

 

 

Though Pride is only one month a year, Team Rainbow helps our queer employees feel seen and heard year-round, and we couldn’t imagine Asana without them.