Celebrating diversity at Xero
Bex is a Senior Quality Assurance Analyst in the Data and Automation team at Xero. Born in small town Pennsylvania, she fell in love with Wellington during what was meant to be a relatively short visit in 2005 and has called New Zealand home ever since.
As a Xero employee, I’m incredibly proud about the diverse and inclusive workplace Xero fosters.
Xero provides more than just lip service in supporting a diverse and inclusive culture for its employees. The company noticeably recognises the importance of an environment where everyone’s differences are not just recognised, but embraced.
It’s not just management that dictates diversity initiatives, our leaders encourage ideas from all levels. New Zealand has a diversity and inclusion group. It meets regularly to brainstorm, plan, and initiate celebrations and other events to promote diversity and acceptance within the company.
From recognising International Women’s Day and Mental Health Awareness Week to hosting shared lunches focussing on food from different cultures and nationalities, Xero enthusiastically supports all of its weird and wonderful staff.
A personal perspective
As one of those weird and wonderful people, I am so grateful and proud to be able to say I am a Xero. There is strength to be gained from the ability to bring your authentic self to work without any fears. One of the Xero values is #human – and there is no doubt the value encompasses us all.
I tick a lot of the minority / diversity checkboxes. I’m an immigrant, a woman, an LGBTIQ+ person, and someone with a history of mental illness. Many organisations would not so readily accept these attributes, let alone celebrate them. Xero is a place where I can be all of those things without embarrassment.
The Xero family has increased my confidence – both professionally and personally – exponentially. As I walked in Wellington’s Pride Parade last month, there was pride and celebrations for the LGBTIQ+ community. Together with my coworkers, we were also proud of Xero itself and the acceptance and inclusion we foster.
The parade
On 10 March, we set out to celebrate diversity in one small way by participating in Wellington’s Pride Parade.
The Wellington International Pride Parade celebrates the LGBTIQ+ community and diversity in Wellington. Xero was proud to participate in the city where we started 11 years ago.
Decked out in all the colours of the rainbow, sporting a Xero Pride flag and massive rainbow balloon arch and accompanied by the Xero Mini, we celebrated with thousands of others down the streets of Wellington.
We danced, handed out temporary tattoos and glowsticks, and celebrated with our very own in-house drag queen and unicyclist. We walked proudly with the rest of the thousand-strong parade past our building. Later, we saw it lit up in the colours of the rainbow to add to the Pride celebrations.
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Source: Xero Blog
