Embedding Authenticity and Sustainable Change Into Pride

Empathy has always been at the heart of Pride Month. In the early hours of Saturday, June 28,1969, members of the LGBTQ+ community began rioting in New York City in direct response to the police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar. After decades of persecution, of being made to feel lesser than, and of being forced to repress key parts of their identity, enough was enough. The riots lasted for six whole days. 

Fifty-two years later, a remembrance of the Stonewall riots serves as the focal point for a month of events that encompass and embrace all aspects of queer culture. And while the celebration of Pride in June may have its roots in American history, it’s gradually been adopted more and more internationally, with observations taking place in countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the UK. 

For Rogerio Almeida, vice president of global field alliances at Workday, the widening scope of Pride doesn’t gloss over its individual importance. “For me personally, Pride means a lot. It’s a time to honour and remember the people who are no longer here after the AIDS tragedy, a mark of defiance to the bullies, and a beautiful celebration of friendship, love, hope, and respect across all identities.”

As part of our VIBE Voices series, we sat down with Rogerio in London to gain his insights as a senior leader at Workday and the UK head of our Pride at Workday Employee Belonging Council. We spoke about how being gay has impacted his professional life, the significance of LGBTQ+ mentorship, and the transformation a business undergoes when everyone is pushing forward in unison.

The Professional Weight of Invisible Identities

Rogerio’s career spans not only multiple companies, but also multiple countries. Starting in tech in his home country of Brazil, he then moved to the UK in 1999 and worked at several more technology companies before joining Workday. As someone who has been in this industry for his entire career, it’s easy to see Rogerio’s passion for his work. “I’ve loved every company I worked for, and have made long-lasting friends in every single one of these places.”

Like many members of the LGBTQ+ community, Rogerio acknowledges that his identity has required certain aspects of his life to be separated. “I only came out as gay in my professional life when I was 35 years old, though I was out to family and friends much earlier. It was hard to identify role models professionally, and there were little to no discussions around relationships that weren’t heterosexual—especially at senior levels of organisations.” After a personal tragedy, Rogerio set out to create a space where he could be open about his identity. 

“After I lost my partner Adrian to suicide, a very tough time in my personal life, it started a chain of events in my life that led me to come out at work, and advocate for a much stronger inclusion policy in the workplace. It also made me extremely aware of and sensitive to mental health issues and the ramifications and consequences if they go untreated or unnoticed.

“Ironically, being open and honest about who I am ended up being the very thing that helped my career grow the way it has, making closer friends and living my life in a much happier and healthier way. The very thing I feared was going to damage my professional trajectory made me a stronger and better leader.”

Supporting LGBTQ+ Mentorship and Psychological Safety 

In the years following his coming out in a professional space, Rogerio moved from strength to strength in his professional career. In doing so, he positioned himself to provide the mentorship and visibility that he lacked at an earlier age, with a goal of creating a well-integrated and -intentioned community. “The existence of a network of role models, mentors, and advisors who want to help LGBTQ+ employees is fundamental. Don’t discount the value of friendly and approachable leaders.”

That need for mentorship is self-evident hearing Rogerio’s own experiences as a young man, a time when he was desperate to fit in and emulate the imagined stereotype of a professional. Even as times change—Rogerio is quick to acknowledge that the next generation has “different views, aspirations, social-economic backgrounds, expectations, and so on”—the need for representation hasn’t waned. “We must not forget that the world outside is not as LGBTQ+ friendly as we would hope in the 21st century. Given the times we’re living in, issues related to representation and equity are more important than ever before.” 

He’s hopeful, though, about the changes senior leaders in the LGBTQ+ community can make by speaking out. “We have a strong responsibility to make the people following in our footsteps feel safe, welcome, and valued so they can really bring their best selves to work.”

Mentorship is essential, but those opportunities will go to waste if employees don’t feel able to speak up and be themselves. That’s why businesses that want to promote company wide belonging and inclusivity have to engender a culture of psychological safety. Rogerio is all too aware of the damaging impact of microaggressions and offensive jokes. 

“Back in Brazil in the 1980s, jokes about gay people were everywhere. I remember laughing because I wanted to erase any trace of who I really was . . . and I also remember feeling an imaginary stab every time I smiled and joined in. Fast forward to the early 2000s, when I was sitting at a restaurant with a group of colleagues on a business trip in Brussels. One of them made a derogatory comment about an effeminate man who walked past our table. But this time I said something. I didn’t laugh at the joke and was very assertive in saying I didn’t find it funny.”

Creating a safe working environment for everyone—while in the office or with colleagues at social events—is incredibly significant. Rogerio recommends placing a focus on education, mentoring, workplace communication, and safe spaces, as well as setting a clear expectation of behaviours across the company. More than anything, he emphasises the value of providing open spaces for learning and discussion. “We all make mistakes, and some of us—quite understandably so—feel anxious about not offending people by unknowingly using the wrong word or sentence. The best way to mitigate that is through education and open dialogue.”

Creating Genuine Corporate Support for Pride

Since Pride has its roots in community action, knowing the place of corporations in that space can often be difficult. In some instances, supporting LGBTQ+ causes on social media platforms without spending the proper time focused on internal belonging and diversity can lead to employees feeling unheard or disenfranchised. For Rogerio, the answer lies in authenticity. “I love the word ‘genuine.’ That’s the secret. Genuine advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community means equal marital policies, equal childcare rights, equal pay, equal opportunities across the whole enterprise, equal equal equal.”

At a corporate level, that sincerity means supporting employees the full year round, not just during significant events. “Workday genuinely cares for us as employees—there’s that word again—and this is evident by the actions that the company takes not only to protect us but to allow us to thrive professionally.” At Workday, that sustained commitment to change was built on the premise that we value inclusion, belonging, and equity for all, our approach called VIBE™. “We see VIBE in the way we train our managers, the way we treat each other, the way we develop our products, the way we welcome new hires, and so much more. There is still so much work to do, but Workday takes this very seriously, starting with our senior executive team, across our senior management team, and through to our individual contributors.”  

Taking Action Together

If true systematic change involves long-term commitments to improve diversity metrics, and a focus on educating employees about the types of diversity in the workplace and the importance of safe self-identification, knowing where to start can be daunting. But when we ask Rogerio about what genuine allyship and advocacy looks like, he once again emphasises the power of community in making a change.    

“First, don’t think it’s someone else’s job. It’s yours. We all have people who identify as LGBTQ+ in our communities. Maybe within our families, maybe within our neighbourhoods, maybe within our places of worship, and certainly in our workplaces. Don’t think ‘this does not affect me,’ because it does. Become an ally to someone, or to a team. Educate yourself. Think about the words you use. Laugh at the right jokes. Create the change in the world that you want to see. We all have the individual power and ability to make this world a much better place. Lead with empathy.”