Celebrating Pride Month—Snyk style!

When it comes to Pride month, the conversation in recent years has seen a noticeable shift, especially in the corporate landscape. It has not gone unnoticed in the LGBTQ+ community that each year more and more brands seem to put out a Pride campaign to boost their visibility throughout the month of June, only to pack away the rainbow flags and ignore the Pride movement for the remaining eleven months of the year. The problem is that so many companies see Pride as a marketing campaign to ride on the coattails of whilst doing very little to support their employees and extended network who identify themselves in the LGBTQ+ community.

When it came to making the decision to join Snyk earlier this year, diversity and inclusion were two components I was looking for (and subsequently found) in the company's culture. Not only to have a presence but to have an active and proud voice that is listened to and allowed to lead. What Snyk is doing for Pride Month is reflective of the support shown to the community throughout the year as opposed to just one month of the year. The five things that really stand out are:

1. Snyk swag - Pride, at its very core, is about visibility and solidarity. It would be nice if we could all be together and all be dressed up in matching t-shirts or showing our colors in the office, but we’ve had to adapt to this new virtual environment we find ourselves working in. This year, we have opted for a Snyk ‘virtual swag pack’ that includes: Pride Zoom background, Pride profile photo filter, a LinkedIn banner, and a Pride email signature. To reflect the diverse celebration of Pride, we have up to 13 different options for each swag item—in the hope of each internal Zoom meeting has a plethora of different colored backgrounds!

2. "What does Pride mean to you?" - In Snyk’s efforts to avoid making Pride a corporate-centric event, we’re keen to have our employee’s share their personal point of view so we can understand and celebrate our Snykers' relationship with Pride or Pride Month—what it represents, how they celebrate or support it, and what they'd like others to know about it! Employees are invited to share their views with members of our Pride Planning Committee via slack or a Zoom call.

3. Pride Afternoon Tea -Following on from the encouragement to share our personal experiences and thoughts, later on in the month we are having a Pride Afternoon Tea, which will be an event to discuss experiences and share advice on how we can each contribute to a kinder, more educated, and inclusive world and workplace.

4. Causes we are passionate about - We have asked our Snykers to pick some LGBTQ+ charities close to their hearts that they wish to raise awareness for this month. Being an international company with offices spanning across 3 continents, we now have a list of twenty charities (which is still growing!) with global charities such as Human Dignity Trust,as well as charities local to our offices in Israel, USA, UK, and across Europe including LGBT Org,Blackout UK,Transgender Law Center,and Colour Youth - Athens LGBTQ Youth Community.In light of the global conversation happening around Black Lives Matter, we are also broadening the conversation to this cause. Recently our CEO made a statement around how everyone should feel safe and welcomed at Snyk, which is reflected in the care we receive as employees. 

5. Donation matching - With raising awareness for charities that mean a lot to snykers on a personal level, we are keen to show support both by raising awareness but also by raising funds for these organizations who will put the money to good use. So, for Pride Month, Snyk, through our Snyk4Good program, is running a donation matching round where our company executives are personally matching any donation our employees make to their chosen LGBTQ+ cause on a 2:1 basis.

Whilst it is disappointing that I can’t celebrate 2020’s Pride Month in the manner I usually would, having such meaningful and informative ways of celebrating Pride will definitely add some vibrance to my month!

To keep up to date with how Snyk supports diversity throughout the year follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter and let us know in the comments how you will be virtually celebrating Pride this year!