Celebrating Pride Month at Onbe

Pride Month may be drawing to a close, but Onbe’s commitment to advocating for and supporting LGBTQIA+ rights is a year-round priority. By honoring, celebrating, and protecting all that makes us diverse, we hope to create a workplace—and contribute to a bright future—that is equitable and welcoming to all.  

Celebrating diverse identities is central to who we are as a team. After all, we spend most of our waking hours at work—whether that’s in the office or remote, from the 20+ U.S. states and four countries that our employees call home. So, it’s important to feel confident that our colleagues accept and support us for who we are. Especially now that Teams calls and virtual events have opened up new windows into our private lives, knowing that it’s safe to be ourselves at work is critical. Research has shown that employees who aren't comfortable disclosing their sexuality at work are less likely to participate in workplace culture and more likely to experience psychological stress and exhibit turnover. In contrast, when we feel empowered to bring our authentic selves to the table, everyone benefits: our colleagues, customers, and partners.  

To that end, Onbe is committed to creating a culture in which employees of diverse identities feel supported and respected—and experience equal opportunities to learn, grow, and advance their careers. Creating an environment where that can happen calls for codified changes, and Onbe is proud to offer inclusive employee benefits, including domestic partner benefits for non-married couples; 100% paid leave for adoption, surrogacy, or whatever path employees choose to start a family; and mental health benefits through the platform Holisticly.  

“Working for Onbe has been life changing for me. LGBTQIA+ employees are given a safe space to share who we are and offered equitable benefits to support our journeys in life outside the company. While the world around us feels unsafe, I feel safe working for Onbe.”  

--Nyx Danvers, Implementation Manager

Creating a workspace that celebrates LGBTQIA+ identities also calls for a subtler culture shift—and that starts with learning and listening. We have encouraged the addition of pronouns to Onbe communication tools and provided training on gender, sexuality, and how to use each other’s pronouns correctly. We’ve also created opportunities for employees to celebrate their identities and discuss their challenges and concerns—such as on our LGBTQ+ Channel on Microsoft Teams and during our monthly open forums, which offer a safe, supportive space for employees to speak up about whatever is on their minds. And our employee culture committees, including BRIDGE (Bringing Resources of Inclusion and Diversity to Garner Equity), WE (Wellness and Engagement) and Community Outreach, create opportunities to grow, learn, and have fun together throughout the year.  

Pride Month was no exception—BRIDGE and WE kicked off the festivities by challenging employees to take part in our Step Out in Pride! Fitness Challenge and offered T-shirts with our Onbe Pride logo to any employee who wanted one. We also carved out time for learning and reflection by inviting experts from Penn State University to speak on the topic of “Understanding Each Other’s Identities,” which reinforced the skills we need to foster an inclusive work environment. And throughout the month, we invited employees to share all the ways they’re celebrating Pride month—such as by taking part in a local Pride event or learning more about the history and impact of LGBTQIA+ culture.  

“I say this from experience: Don't wing it at being an ally. It’s risky and honestly overprivileged to assume that your good intentions are enough. Do the homework.”

--JR Jenks, Senior Staff Engineer, Architecture

But again, Onbe’s commitment to supporting LGBTQIA+ rights does not start and end with Pride Month; it extends to everything we do, from making hiring decisions that reflect our diverse world to continuing to listen, improve, and drive positive change in our company and community. There’s still more work that needs to be done, but we’re proud to hear from many of our employees that they feel celebrated and empowered at work.

Interested in joining the Onbe team? Learn more about our culture, commitment to DE&I, and the exciting career opportunities we have available.

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by Nikki Cannon, Senior Director, Learning & DEI

At Onbe, Nikki champions our culture by empowering employees to learn, grow, collaborate, and be themselves.