How Outforce Supports and Celebrates the LGBTQ+ Community
In celebration of Global Pride Month, we spotlight how our Outforce employee resource group is championing equality.
Daniel Nguyen
At Salesforce, we believe that creating a culture of equality isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing. It empowers us to innovate, build deeper connections with our customers, and ultimately become a better company. For those who might question the business benefits, there’s strong evidence that equality in the workplace increases profits.
One of our priorities at Salesforce is to create a workplace that represents the diverse communities we live in. A workplace where everyone feels seen and supported to reach their full potential. This includes employees of all sexual orientations and gender identities, which is why Outforce was formed.
Outforce is one of several equality groups at Salesforce that empower underrepresented groups and encourage them to bring their authentic selves to work. Outforce focuses on supporting the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community. In celebration of Global Pride Month, we’re spotlighting some of the ways Outforce is promoting equality in Southeast Asia.
Creating an inclusive environment
As a group, Outforce is bold. However, we know it can be difficult for people from underrepresented groups to believe in themselves. To help, we want to create a workplace where LGBTQ+ people are celebrated for being their true selves and supported to unlock their potential.
Creating visibility is key to our vision. We want to create visibility of the amazing diversity within the LGBTQ+ community. We also want to bring visibility to the continued challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people and educate others on how to become better allies.
Outforce has recently launched an LGBTQ+ Workplace Equality Handbook, which aims to do just that. The handbook contains tips for interacting with LGBTQ+ individuals and helping to nurture inclusivity.
For instance, using someone’s correct pronouns is essential. In the handbook, we offer advice on how to navigate pronouns when meeting new people. The most important thing is to ask, rather than assume. We also suggest everyone offer their own pronouns, making an effort to normalise the sharing of these.
In the handbook and our Quarterly Allyship Leadership Workshops, we provide tips on speaking out about workplace bullying. Bullying can manifest itself in many ways, including less obvious ones like isolating an employee on purpose or keeping them out of the loop. The first step to stop workplace bullying is acknowledging that a problem exists, and this is one area where having an ally can help.
Giving back to local communities
Outforce wants to empower LGBTQ+ individuals both inside and outside of Salesforce, which is why we volunteer our time to organisations like Pink Fest. Pink Fest is a festival that has been celebrating Global Pride Month in Singapore since 2018.
This year, we partnered at Pink Fest with PayPal, ResMed, and Twitter to introduce the Inclusive Careers Lab. The program included virtual panel discussions, skill development workshops, and mentoring sessions. These were designed to help underrepresented groups within the region whose careers were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salesforce held 1:1 Career Coaching Sessions during the event, providing participants with tips on how to navigate career development journeys. Soon, we will launch a broader mentoring program to support the professional and personal development of the LGBTQ+ community across Southeast Asia.
We want to provide everyone with opportunities to shine, connect, and grow. Outforce will continue to work with other groups to promote equality for all.
