Across the globe, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has highlighted inequalities and its disproportionate effect on certain groups of our workforce. Over the past year, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have been instrumental in educating co-workers on issues of inequality. Next, we want to advance inclusion by expanding our focus on allyship. An ally is someone who makes the intentional decision to understand, empathize and act in support of someone else.
By asking allies to actively engage, support and promote, the responsibility of shifting our culture is more evenly distributed. This shift highlights the importance that everyone at Cubic, regardless of identity, title or geographical location, plays a role in creating an inclusive and equitable workplace where all of us can perform and thrive.
Last week we launched Global Week of Allyship at Cubic. In a candid conversation with Grace Lee, Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer, she shares what allyship means for our future and how we drive sustainable, inclusive change within our culture.
Cecilia: What does allyship mean to you?
Grace: To me, allyship is a lifelong commitment. While my allyship journey may look different than yours, I think there is a universal understanding that being an ally starts with making the intentional decision to support another group, to understand issues and barriers, and to be part of that community.
It’s also important to note that every single person can be an ally. I witnessed such an example last week when CAPA our Asian Pacific Alliance ERG, hosted a ‘Safe Room’ open forum in response to the hate crimes against the Asian community in the U.S. We had an incredible dialogue in which members from many of our other ERGs including HOLA, our Hispanic and Latin ERG, and members of MAANA, our Black ERG listened to the personal experiences and fears shared by our CAPA members, voiced their solidarity, and asked how they could support and be better allies to our AAPI employees.
It’s been amazing to see the sense of community and employee-driven culture that has evolved since our ERGs were created in November of 2019. We're still relatively early in our journey, but I’m very encouraged by the progress we’ve made thus far and how our ERGs have driven allyship at Cubic.
Cecilia: What were your highlights from Cubic’s Global Week of Allyship?
Grace: Throughout the week, we opened our senses: our minds, our hearts, and our ears to learn the importance of allyship and the positive impact it can have. I think one of the most powerful ways to create a culture of empathy and understanding for groups or individuals is through storytelling, and we’ve centered the Global Week of Allyship at Cubic around this. Whether it was from subject-matter experts and authors of the books and resources we shared, the voices of our employees in the personal ally stories, or the honest conversations during our company-wide panel events, we heard from a wide range of perspectives and experiences. I hope these stories inspired our Cubes to embark on their own allyship journeys that lasts far beyond this week, and we’re hoping to hold ourselves accountable through our Ally Pledge.
Cecilia: What is the Ally Pledge?
Grace: The Ally Pledge is something I’m very excited about. Each day during Cubic’s Global Week of Allyship, we provided our employees with an action they can take as individuals to become better allies. The final action of the week was to take the Ally Pledge. The Ally Pledge is designed for Cubes to share personal commitments how they will implement what they’ve learned into their everyday lives.
Cecilia: Could you expand a little bit more about the Ally Pledge and how you hope it will impact our culture?
Grace: Each employee pledge is unique and deeply personal. The pledge is done virtually, we leveraged our innovation social system - a collaborative internal platform. The platform is an interactive forum to create a community of intentional allies. My hope is that our community of educated and enabled allies will continue to grow and foster a culture in which everyone’s voice is heard and included.
Cecilia: Thank you for sharing your insights. I think all of us benefit from a better understanding of allyship. For me, one of the key takeaways is that when it comes to being an ally, good intentions are not enough - it’s about moving into meaningful action and realizing that creating a culture of allyship is a work in progress.
Learn more about our Diversity and Inclusion initiatives or better yet, connect with us on twitter @CubicCorp.
