Every June, the world’s LGBTQIA+ communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves. The celebration, however, is rooted in an arduous history, decades of struggling to overcome prejudice and be accepted for how they identify and who they love.
This Pride Month, and every other month and day of the year, Tangoe is proud to be a safe and inclusive workplace for all of its team members across the globe. By promoting an attitude of acceptance and embracing individuality, Tangoe has fostered a truly collaborative culture, where differences are celebrated as strengths and everyone’s voice carries equal weight.
This isn’t just something companies should be thinking about for the month of June for Pride Month, or during Black History Month, or Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, or any other commemorative period of time dedicated to celebrating and observing the contributions and influences of a given portion of the population. Cultivating a culture of acceptance, one where every person feels safe, valued, and respected in the workplace, is a 24/7, 365-day-a-year initiative that should be approached with intention and taken very seriously by every company.”
As more and more companies embrace remote work and, thus, embrace a global workforce, making active strides to build a diverse workforce is a must. Many people think of a diversified workplace as including employees of different ethnicities, genders, and racial backgrounds, however there’s much more to it. A diversified workforce also integrates people of different religions, cultures, educational backgrounds, languages, and, of course, sexual orientations.
At Tangoe, these differences are invaluable and a driving force behind the success of the company. Employees are encouraged to share their unique perspectives, which are more often than not, influenced by their individual life experiences. This approach cultivates creativity and inspires innovation, which is imperative to the growth and evolution of any company.
By embracing our differences and building a truly diverse, globalized workforce, we are welcoming new and unique perspectives into our workplace. This allows us to see problems through a different lens and consider solutions beyond traditional thinking. If you have a workforce composed of one hundred people who all come from similar backgrounds and who all think the same, there really is no opportunity to grow and innovate.
As June comes to a close, the rainbow corporate logos will surely disappear from social media. Flag-painted merchandise will leave the shelves of department stores across the country. And, in most cases, parades and street festivals celebrating the community will come to an end for the year. While the corporate posturing will be placed on the backburner until next June, it’s important for companies to remember their responsibility to create a safe, positive and prosperous work environment for their LGBTQIA+ employees.
Over the next few months, the company will be transitioning to a mostly remote, hybrid workplace, which has presented unprecedented challenges, but also unique opportunities, to continue positively evolving our inclusive workplace. From employee resource groups to virtual happy hours, team building exercises and communities of practice, we’re taking the steps necessary to make our remote workplace even more inclusive and diverse. We’re listening to our employees and developing new initiatives and practices inspired by the minds of our global workforce, including taking steps to develop our first ever diversity committee. As the leading technology expense and asset management solution for more than 20 years, Tangoe is leading by example and walking the walk. Now it’s your turn.