June 2022 marks the third year we are celebrating Pride Month at Pega. It also commemorates 53 years since the Stonewall Uprising, which is universally recognized as the start of the modern Gay Pride movement. Across the globe, members of the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) community – along with their passionate allies -- will be marching, protesting, and celebrating.
Justice and Joy, One Pega Culture
The theme chosen by the Pride@Pega ERG (Employee Resource Group) for this year’s Pride Month is Justice and Joy, One Pega Culture. As Pride@Pega’s Global Co-Chairs, we believe that representation of the LGBTQIA+ community – which continues to fight for equality while celebrating significant accomplishments -- is essential to building a One Pega Culture. Over the past year, our global Pega Pride community has exemplified the values of Justice and Joy through new initiatives and achievements.
Mel Reid, Openly Out Professional Golfer, Becomes Pega Brand Ambassador
Mel Reid, English Golfer in the LPGA
In 2021, Pega teamed up with Mel Reid, an openly out professional golfer in the LPGA, who became an official Pega Brand Ambassador. During the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, Reid wore a hat featuring Pega’s Pride logo to celebrate Pride Month, becoming the first professional golfer to wear a Pride Logo in competition. Reid’s Pega Pride hat – which she donated to the USGA Golf Museum and Library – was ranked as one of the Top 10 USGA Golf Museum and Library Acquisitions of 2021.
Scores 95 out of 100 on the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index serves as the premier U.S. benchmark measuring equality in the workplace for LGBTQIA+ employees. We were thrilled that Pega achieved a score of 95 out of 100 in our first year of applying, a visible testament to our commitment to equality for all. It is essential that Pega is a place where our LGBTQIA+ employees can bring their authentic selves to work every day. We look forward to achieving a perfect score of 100 on the next application, while at the same time expanding our equality standing worldwide.
2021 Pega Impact Report
Read more about what Pega is doing to support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Pega Pride On The Global Stage: RISE and Rainbow Railroad
Since Pega is a global company, we strive to ensure that our Pride initiatives include all of our employees throughout the world. This year, for the first time, our Talent Advisory Partners and Talent Attraction Consultants took part in RISE, an LGBTQIA+ targeted Job Fair in India, where Pega has a large number of employees. Pega was a proud Bronze sponsor for the Fair, and will also sponsor the RISE conference at the end of July.
In April this year, Pega also presented a webinar with Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit organization that helps LGBTQIA+ people escape state-sponsored violence and oppression. Pega employees can contribute to Rainbow Railroad through our internal giving platform, so that at-risk LGBTQIA+ individuals around the world will be able to live a more just future, free from persecution.
DEI … and Belonging
Our diversity and inclusion initiatives now include “belonging” because the feeling of “being a part of” is critical to our wellbeing. Pride@Pega and our other ERGs foster a community where people can come together to share perspectives, stories, and discuss what’s important to them. We spoke with ERG members about what this year’s Pride theme means to them and how they see and showcase pride year-round:
"This theme really embraces what I think Pride is. We are a community that knows how to celebrate our joys and lives in a constant search for justice. We definitely know how to party, but we also know how to get together and stand up for our rights."
"Pride is showing up to work every month of the year, not just June, as your authentic self and without fear of it affecting their professional trajectory."
"I do my best work when I can be my authentic self and when I know that others can be authentic as well. It's so important that we can create a culture of openness and representation where diversity can drive innovation. Without our individual unique strengths and backgrounds, our teams would not be as strong or cohesive."
"Many people can agree that authenticity can correlate with honesty, trustworthiness. I would argue that authenticity primarily means self-respect. Why is self-respect important? Joan Didion said it better than I could ever imagine: "In brief, people with self-respect exhibit a certain toughness, a kind of moral nerve; they display what was once called character, a quality which, although approved in the abstract, sometimes loses ground to other, more instantly negotiable virtues."
As Pride@Pega’s Global Co-Chairs, we’re proud to work for a company that values open, honest, and respectful discourse. We all strive to be welcoming, safe, open, inclusive, and diverse for all dimensions of identity. Let Pride Month once again inspire us to listen without judgment, and to speak up or act when we see inequality or exclusion, all while celebrating what makes us unique … that is, to truly embrace the spirit of Justice and Joy.