
How These Companies Are Celebrating Pride (Virtually!) in 2020
By April, most of us knew that Pride month would look and feel different this year. And by May, not only did we know it would look and feel different, we knew that it should. It wouldn't be right to celebrate Pride without acknowledging the contributions of the Black trans women who led the Stonewall Riots 51 years ago and made Pride as we know it today possible — Pride began with a protest, and although Pride parades have been cancelled this year, many LGBTQ+ individuals are celebrating by supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in the fight against racism and police brutality.
In a year that has been marked by so much change, uncertainty, and devastation, it's never been more important to celebrate everything that Pride stands for: self-affirmation, dignity, and equality.
Here's how 22 of our partner companies are keeping the spirit of Pride alive in their workplaces, reminiscing about Pride celebrations and parades from years past, and most importantly, advocating for equality for LGBTQ+ individuals this month and all year round:
PwC
"At PwC, we are committed to a culture of belonging where diverse individuals can form a genuine community. Pride Month is an opportunity for the firm and our people to demonstrate that purpose and inclusion. Throughout June, external articles, #PwCPride social media, and a video will feature PwCers courageously sharing their coming-out stories, highlighting supportive benefits and explaining why they can bring their whole selves to work.
We also look forward to virtually celebrating with various activities focused on advocating, educating, and entertaining during Pride Month.The PwC US National Shine Committee will be hosting a Pride trivia night, fundraising for AIDS/LifeCycle, and streaming a national Pride Month webcast."
Learn more about PwC here.
Flatiron Health, Inc.
"Though we can't be together in-person this Pride, we can still strengthen our community and bring it together. While we are hosting virtual events, including a cooking class and a panel, we are placing an emphasis on recognizing our history, remembering the BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) and TGNC (Trans/Gender Non-Conforming) folx who led uprisings against police brutality and violence. We are educating ourselves and our allies on systemic racism and appropriation within our LGBTQ+ community, and determining actions we can take to ensure long-lasting change."
Learn more about Flatiron Health, Inc here.
Bristol Myers Squibb
"Our team has developed a set of virtual activities that promise to be engaging, informative, and fun, all aligned with our four priorities for the year: Addressing Covering and Inclusion in the workplace through our Keynote storytelling event, supporting colleagues' professional development, advancing external recruiting through social media, and educating our workforce on the work BMS is supporting to positively impact LGBTQ+ health disparities. We'll also create a virtual mosaic pride flag from pictures our members submit that we'll reveal at the end of June!"
Learn more about Bristol Myers Squibb here.
PagerDuty
"PagerDuty has long celebrated Pride, and our colleagues look forward to Pride Week each year. Our challenge: how can we give them the same great experience when everyone is working from home? Our RainbowDuty employee resource group looked at the past events and found some that are Zoom-friendly: our always-popular panel discussion and our screening of selected TED talks. We also adapted some of our other activities - our "wear a Pride color" events changed to "color your Zoom background", for example. And we replaced some events, such as our happy hours, with more virtual-friendly activities like a trivia night."
Learn more about PagerDuty here.
Freddie Mac
"Freddie Mac - Celebrating Pride Month Virtually at Freddie Mac - Our Pride employee resource group (ERG) is hosting virtual activities and programs throughout Pride Month to celebrate and honor the diversity of our community. In lieu of the 2020 Pride Parade, Pride ERG members will showcase what Pride means to them in a virtual parade of Tik Tok videos and other talents streamed via Microsoft Teams. Mid-month, Pride is teaming up with our Working Parents ERG to host an LGBTQ+ parenting panel that covers everything from advice around children coming out to their family to understanding Freddie Mac's adoption benefits — and more. Later in the month, we're bringing in bi+ activist and speaker Robin Ochs to lead a training on the bisexual, pansexual and fluid employee experience in the workplace based on data from her studies."
Learn more about Freddie Mac here.
Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT)
"TpT is celebrating Pride Month with a number of events and experiences led by Flora, ourLGBTQ Employee Resource Group. This year, like the rest of the world, we're going virtual! The group will organize everything from Pride events to a panel discussion featuring a few LGBTQ members from our 150k+ seller community.
Additionally, our marketing team is assembling branded blog posts and features with our greater community of 6M+ educators."
Learn more about TpT here.
Quip
- Trivia through Kahoot and topics include
- Pop culture references - 80s/90s
- LGBTQ Celebrities
- Rupaul's Drag Race
- Wearing rainbow the entire day
- Sharing a Pride playlist for people to enjoy
- Host a Quip LGBTQ panel with volunteers and moderator."
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Watch the video above to learn more about support for LGTBQ+ employees and past pride celebrations at National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Learn more about National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency here.
Kin + Carta
"Kin + Carta is celebrating Pride with a theme of #YouUsMeWe which calls on each of us to reach out and understand one another, demanding us to be better allies within our communities. Themes of intersectionality have been incorporated into every piece of our celebrations — educating our Kin on the existing intersections within the LGBTQIA+ community (race, gender, socioeconomic class, age, disability, etc.) Kin + Carta has planned an allyship workshop, a panel discussion, a pub quiz, and educational materials for employees. These Pride events and materials are intended to strengthen the ways we support and advocate for one another at Kin + Carta."
Learn more about Kin + Carta here.
Elastic
"Historically, Pride is celebrated with large outdoor events around the world. Due to the current pandemic, we're doing things a little differently this year. Elastic's Source Code invites employees to come "As YOU Are" to Elastic, so we've created Pride-themed Zoom backgrounds for folks to download to celebrate our LGBTQA+ employees virtually throughout the month of June. Elastic is also matching our employee donations to LGBTQIA + organizations throughout the month of June. To learn more about about our Pride celebrations read this blog post → https://go.es.io/2XzwgPB"
Learn more about Elastic here.
Spotify
"At Spotify, our Pride theme this year is "Unlike Any Other." Now more than ever this theme rings true. On our platform, we welcome back the Pride Hub for playlists and podcasts that amplify LGBTQAI + creators and, in particular, Queer Black voices via our "The House of…" playlists. In addition our Kids App will be featuring a Pride playlist this year called, Love is Love, aimed to inspire self acceptance. For our employees we're doing a day long virtual celebration and have rolled out special Pride email signatures, Zoom backgrounds and pronoun stickers. We will continue to celebrate Pride all year in our different markets around the world. Follow @spotifyjobs on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram."
Learn more about Spotify here.
MongoDB
"MongoDB is hosting a session to amplify intersectional voices within the LGBTQ+ community. This is part of "Decoding Inclusion," an internal series aimed at building community and sharing foundational knowledge about D&I topics to further our understanding of differences. There are two affinity groups that aim to maintain a safe space for the community; Queeries, for those identifying as LGBTQ+ or questioning, and Underrepresented Genders in Tech (UGT) for people of underrepresented genders in technical roles. This June, MongoDB will also host events for employees around the globe, including "The ABCs of LGBT+," drag bingo, and more."
Learn more about MongoDB here.
T. Rowe Price
"T. Rowe Price is offering virtual Pride experiences globally. We are connecting our associates to Global Pride 2020, a virtual celebration of Pride featuring musical performances, speeches, and key messages from human rights activists across the globe. Associates are also participating in the Denver Virtual Pride Parade, through a video montage. For the first time ever, the T. Rowe Price headquarters will display rainbow lights in support of our associates, friends, and family members in the LGBTQ+ starting June 15th. The firm continues to match associates' donations to nonprofits that address key issues important to the LBGT community."
Learn more about T. Rowe Price here.
S&P Global
"In celebration of Pride Month, Spectrum, S&P Global's LGBTQ+ & Friends Employee Resource Group, is hosting several virtual events to mark the occasion. Spectrum's Mexico City chapter will lead a discussion for employees across North America and Latin America on building a more inclusive world. Spectrum's Singapore chapter will host a virtual lunch for their members the day prior to the Singapore Pink Dot celebration. In addition, S&P Global will share profiles of our LGBTQ+ colleagues internally and on social media. All of our actions and messages to mark Pride Month are in solidarity with the members of our Black community at this critical time."
Learn more about S&P Global here.
Priceline
"Last year, employees from Priceline, as well as our parent and sister companies, marched together in the Pride Parade in New York.
This year, Priceline will be honoring Pride Month by incorporating it in Project QuaranTEAM (Quarantine Engagement Program). Next week, we are asking employees to include rainbow colors in their Zoom backgrounds as well as dress up in tie-dye and/or rainbow colors on Wednesday (Wednesday is Priceline Pride Day). We wish everyone a healthy, safe and happy Pride Month!"
Learn more about Priceline here.
Karat, Inc.
"Last month, Karat unveiled a new candidate feature that asks candidates their preferred pronouns. Below are a couple of quotes from the team addressing why this was an important project to prioritize this year, and how we went about making the changes to be as inclusive and sensitive as possible: "We've all been on the candidate side at least once if not many many times. We apply, interview, and all the while hope that not only are we communicating ourselves in our most authentic versions but that we're being accepted and celebrated too. Karat plays such a fundamental role in that process. We have the opportunity to lean into our candidates' stories and lift them up. The pronoun selector is just one of many ways we try to recognize and celebrate our candidates to ensure they're recognized and celebrated at work." - Irena Lam (she/her), Karat Senior Product Manager
"All interviews are at heart a conversation, the hopeful start of a long working relationship. Accurately recording a candidate's name and pronouns is a small part of building a healthy work relationship, one that not only sets up coworkers to gracefully meet and refer to a new hire without hesitation or confusion or embarrassment but also sets up new hires to shine and contribute their full potential." - Lusen Mendel (they/them), Karat Director of Developer Relations
"Our design team researched extensively to ensure we approached this feature with intention and care. We learned it's key not just to know exactly why we're asking for it but to communicate that transparently with the candidate. English as a second language was another important perspective our product designer considered, to ensure our language was clear for folks more familiar with English pronouns or less." - Irena Lam (she/her), Karat Senior Product Manager
Learn more about Karat, Inc. here.
Deloitte LLP
"Across the country, Deloitte's Inclusion Councils are celebrating Pride with virtual events, including a Pride-themed Zoom background contest, Pride trivia, and hosting important discussions on advancing inclusion. Our people are also supporting the LGBTQ+ community through giving and virtual volunteering."
Learn more about Deloitte LLP here.
Moody's Corporation
"Moody's strongly supports our LGBT employees and are proud to be named a top employer by the Human Rights Campaign and Stonewall UK. For Pride Month 2020, we have created a global Pride Calendar, encouraging our employers to research and learn about LGBT history each day in June. This year, as we cannot celebrate in person, we are hosting several virtual activities around the world, such as trivia nights, fireside chats and documentary screenings, as well as participating in the virtual AIDS Walk in New York City. Additionally, we are proudly displaying our rainbow Moody's logo across all online platforms."
Learn more about Moody's Corporation here.
Lattice
"Although bummed we can't celebrate Pride with in-person events, we are excited to try it virtually. Latticians have put together the following events for Lattice:
- MasterClass: "RuPaul Teaches Self-Expression and Authenticity"
- Pride Happy Hour
- Movie Night: "How to Survive a Plague" with a discussion, and a fundraiser."
Learn more about Lattice here.
Relativity LLC
"At Relativity, our LGBTQ+ focused Community Resource Group, Relativity Pride, has planned for a month full of programming to celebrate and recognize Pride Month. From social media posts in our Pride gear, a trivia night, and special Zoom backgrounds, to a panel about Allies and how they can contribute to experiences within the LGBTQ+ community, it will be a month of learning, supporting, and sharing stories, with celebration mixed in. In addition to our internal plans, Relativity is a sponsor of the Lesbians Who Tech Global Pride Summit on June 22-26."
Learn more about Relativity LLC here.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space
"During Pride month, we commemorate the positive impact that the LGBTQ community has had on society. We are proud to see Raytheon Intelligence & Space create a culture of inclusion so everyone can bring their whole self to work,"- David Broadbent and Eric Ditmars, Raytheon Intelligence & Space executive diversity champions
Learn more about Raytheon Intelligence & Space here.
Guru Technologies
"This Pride Month, we're celebrating the people that made LGBTQ+ history, those who took on the fight for equal rights that we continue today. These groundbreaking heroes made art, policy, and culture that changed this country for the better. As part of Guru's ongoing commitment to fight racism, we are specifically celebrating the Black heroes who are often overlooked in LGBTQ+ history. We've created several Zoom backgrounds to help celebrate."
You can view the Zoom backgrounds and learn more about some of the heroes Guru is celebrating here.
Learn more about Guru Technologies here.
- What These Companies Are Doing To Celebrate Pride All Year ... ›
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- Learn About PowerToFly's Pride at Work summit speakers - PowerToFly Blog ›
- What These Companies Are Doing To Celebrate Pride All Year Round - PowerToFly Blog ›
- Celebrating LGBTQIA+ Pride at Work — Virtual & In-Person Ideas - PowerToFly Blog ›
Engineering Teams Are Growing At CallRail! Join Them!
💎 Are CallRail's engineering teams the right fit for you? Watch the video to the end to find out!
📼 Engineering teams at CallRail encourage collaboration, communication, and empathy. Ayana Reddick, Senior Software Engineer at CallRail, shares what they are looking for in candidates and tells you why you’ll thrive there.
📼Engineering teams want candidates who have a growth mindset, love to learn, and are really good at communication. They also value team members who are excited about solving problems and working collaboratively. If you think you have what it takes, don't hesitate to apply.
📼At CallRail, engineering teams use Ruby on Rails for their backend, Angular on their frontend, and PostgreSQL for persistent data. They also use Jira for creating and tracking tickets, GitHub for their version control, and AWS for many cloud tools. Get familiar with these resources if you want to join them!
Engineering Teams And Diversity - Company’s Culture
CallRail seeks to hire from underrepresented groups. They pride themselves in selecting from a pool of very diverse candidates. They value the work that people do over their resumes. They encourage people to take their authentic selves to work. And they strive to create a supportive and welcoming environment. For this, they have Employee Resource Groups, that give voice to, provide safe spaces for, and educate the company at large. Some of their ERGs include the Rainbow Coalition, Black and Brown, Women Circle, and more.
🧑💼 Are you interested in joining CallRail? They have open positions! To learn more, click here.
Get to Know Ayana Reddick
If you are interested in a career at CallRail, you can connect with Ayana on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to mention this video!
More About CallRail
CallRail is here to bring complete visibility to the marketers who rely on quality inbound leads to measure success. Their customers live in a results-driven world, and giving them a clear view of their digital marketing efforts is the priority for CallRail. They see the opportunities in surfacing and connecting data from calls, forms, and beyond—helping their customers get to better outcomes.
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
Ashlee Bobb on Taking Advantage of Nike’s Financial Literacy Program
Below is an article originally published in April 2022 on Nike’s LinkedIn. Visit Nike's company page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
“In my early twenties, I wasn’t the best at saving money. So, when I got the job at Nike and found out a financial coach was offered to me — for free! — I thought, ‘It’s time to be an adult. I should use this service to help me learn how to buy stock, tell me what I’m doing right with my money and where I can improve.’”
That’s Ashlee Bobb, Nike Media and Influencer Relations Manager, on the free, unlimited access to financial coaching offered to every U.S. Nike employee through EY Navigate™. EY coaches are trained on Nike’s benefits and programs, so Ashlee was able to work with her coach on a budget and savings plan utilizing Nike’s 401k match and Employee Stock Purchase Plan – all in one 45-minute session. She left the meeting feeling confident about what her next paycheck would look like and how her money would work for her.
“The EY coaches are really willing to come on the journey with you,” Bobb says, adding that hers was willing to work with the fact that, hey, she’s not going to give up take out, but still wants to save for the future. “The cool thing is I can see how this financial guidance could help me down the road when I decide to get married, buy a house, have a kid. Every Nike employee should take advantage.”
Sound like the kind of company you want to be a part of? Check out our open roles on jobs.nike.com3 Ways to Lead with Purpose: Insight from Light & Wonder’s Erika Morrison
Erika Morrison is a naturally passionate and encouraging leader. From leading her family in giving back to their community, to coaching adolescents in track and cheer, to managing her team at Light & Wonder during the pandemic, her experience is rich with lessons to share with up-and-coming leaders.
“I believe in motivation, positivity, inspiring, finding the good in everything, everybody,” she says. In addition to 30+ years in the tech field, Erika is a wife, a mother of two, an avid exercise lover, and has even been a small-business owner.
We sat down with Erika to hear about the experiences that have led her to her current role as a Software Engineering Manager at Light & Wonder, as well as three practical ways to lead with purpose.
Seeing Potential in Others
Erika has always been fascinated by the world of technology. Growing up, she loved cassette tapes, DVD players, phones, and whatever other gadgets she could get her hands on. When her dad brought home a PC Junior, it didn’t take long before she started programming on it. She designed her own trivia game, using what she learned in her middle school programming classes. “I was typing the questions in and programming the answers. I had a blast writing it and showing it to my family. I remember I wanted to show everyone what I made. That was my first real desire to get into programming.”
Erika followed that instinct into college where she majored in Business Administration and minored in Computer Science. The kickstart to her tech career came when she landed a computer operating job while still in school. She comments, “I was originally applying for a secretarial position at this company. But someone looked at my studies and experience and saw potential in me. I didn't think I was ready for that because I was still so young, I was still in school.”
Erika went on to work as a programmer analyst and software engineer for multiple major Casino based companies. During this time, she even started and ran a local event-planning business, which fine-tuned her skills in successful customer service.
Then, someone saw potential in Erika again. A former coworker reached out and offered her a leadership position with the company that would become Light & Wonder. Erika took on the role of Software Engineering Manager and says “it’s been opportunity after opportunity ever since.”
Managing Through the Pandemic
Erika believes that the best way to lead a team is to really get to know its members. “A lot of leading is knowing the people on your team,” she explains. “Know what each person needs — What may work for one person may not work for someone else. We have to take a little bit of who they are into consideration when attempting to motivate, to coach, to inspire because we're not all motivated by the same things.”
Prior to the pandemic, Erika and her team worked together in the office, which gave her the opportunity to do so. Once the pandemic hit, however, she had to pivot to incorporating virtual meetings to be able to generate that intimacy. She organizes bi-monthly check-ins with her team members where she intentionally asks for their individual preferences on communication and feedback.
“I have one-on-ones with each of my staff every two weeks. We go over the issues that they've had and then any questions or concerns or anything that they want to chat about. Sometimes it's business and sometimes it's personal. But, I feel like taking that extra time out just to have those conversations is extremely important.”
She also cohosts weekly remote Friday cocktail hours to cultivate her team’s relationships and check in on their mental health. “During the Friday cocktail hours, we would relax, ask some questions, or play some games. And it was nice to have that interaction again and connect with the team. It also allowed me to check in on everyone's mental health and make sure that if there was anything that we could do, we were here.”
Inspired to Encourage the Team
Erika is inspired by the example of her past and current mentors and their vision for her professional trajectory. She acknowledges that it was thanks to key people who saw her potential that she has been able to have these experiences. Erika’s own personal drive and passion for encouraging and uplifting others have led her to love her leadership position.
As a manager, Erika seeks the highest level of respect and excellence for her customers, while creating an encouraging work environment for her team. “I want to make sure that my team has everything that they need in order to succeed and get their jobs done the way they want to. I want them to have the level of success that they want.”
Erika ensures that her team members feel their significant contribution to the company and how they are serving with purpose. “We need to feel like we are part of something significant,” she says. “That’s my goal as a leader and for my team.”
3 Ways to Lead with Purpose:
Drawing from her experiences as a tech leader, business owner, coach, and community volunteer, she gives us three practical ways to lead with purpose in whatever context.
- Understand the “why”. “It’s extremely important to know the why of your company. Once you understand it from the company’s perspective, you can communicate it clearly to the team. And once you get that down, you’re able to help build a strong path for them to follow so that both “why’s” are in alignment. Knowing the why of your individual team members allows you to better manage, assist, and build a relationship with them.”
- Build consistency. “I think it’s very important that we are consistent and don't deviate from the why and the task at hand. Building consistency with others motivates and inspires people to give their best, even when we don’t feel like it. When dealing with a change or a huge transition, it’s extremely important to stick to the why’s, the steps we’re taking, and the right attitude."
- Remain positive. “You have to find positivity in everything because no matter what, it could always be worse. We can always find the negative things, but there are also always positive things. As a leader, I need to be empathetic, kind, and encouraging no matter what. It’s extremely important that I’m positive and involve my team members in the process.”
Follow this link for more information about Light & Wonder and their current openings!