MY FIRST YEAR IN PRIDE@SAP MEXICO

During this first year of participating in Pride@SAP Mexico, I had the opportunity to join the LGBTTTI Pride Parade in Mexico City, where I was very proud that SAP marched along as a member of the Pride Connection group, a corporate convoy made up of 1,000 people who work toward equal rights.

This year had greater relevance for me because a great friend of mine, Erik Rivera, artist and designer, unanimously won the official poster contest for the parade. His work represents an Aztec warrior child that symbolizes the struggle and protection of LGBTTTI rights.

I was also very proud to see SAP Mexico participation and sponsorship the Pride Connection Summit. SAP’s own Claudia Avilan was one of the speakers during the conference on Human Resources.

I also attended the LGBT Connection event in the British Embassy in Mexico city that was organized by FMELGBT and SAP Mexico to invite LGBT-owned companies to promote their products and services through the Bristish Commerce Chamber in Mexico.

For me this year has been significantly relevant to have joined the Pride@SAP employee network group because I could visualize the great efforts made by many people who are fighting for equal opportunities and looking to create a workplace where LGBT employees and their allies feel safe, valued and respected, thus allowing them to reach their maximum potential.

Undoubtedly, it was amazing to meet Monica Roldan, Pride@SAP Mexico’s former lead, and collaborate with her. She motivated me to get more involved. It was her encouragement that ushered me to apply to become the new Pride@SAP Mexico lead in August 2017. Being selected by our regional D&I leaders, representing a great challenge and the responsibility to collaborate more proactively in this initiative.

My main objective in this role is to create a network of contacts and allies that understand and support diversity, and to promote diversity and labor inclusion in senior management, as well as raise awareness about minorities.

Finally, to conclude 2017 in a great way, SAP Mexico has been recognized with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) certificate, which is a global labor equity program whose main objective is to increase awareness of the importance of LGBTQ Diversity and Inclusion in workplaces through the development of consultative work and educational models for Mexican companies and organizations.

I am sure that 2018 will be a year full of challenges and activities that will allow us to increase the participation of our colleagues in SAP Pride ENG and add more allies in the Pride Connection network to promote diversity & inclusion practices in more companies in Mexico, influencing more than half a million of people in the country.

SAP#runprouder#businessbeyondbias