Are ERGs a Platform for Activism? My experience as a Google ERG Lead.

The Intoxicating power of ERG leadership

While in California, I was the lead for "Indian Googler Network" (IGN), an (ERG) Employee Resource Group, which corporations set up as part of a goal of diversity and Inclusion, and endow a small $ budget.?

The power that came with being an ERG lead came with, was trippin'. I hosted celebrities-- Madhuri Dixit, PM Modi's, & Interviewed celebrities in front of a packed house of HNI bay area desis. As a lead, I attracted many fake friends who were curious to know behind the scenes 'kya kya hota hai' or knew?I had control over how tickets get distributed at Indian events.??

When you say, 'I am leading the ERG at X company', it's intoxicating to see the number of doors that open. People would fall over themselves to do partnerships. You think 10% is a reasonable opening rate for emails? Try emailing from a FAANG LDAP. It's 100% open rate. In fact, 110%. They might open it twice, to re-read it.

Platform for Good

While in California, ~2015, I was particularly impressed with the BGN ("Black Googler Network"). IIRC, they had a $100k+ annual budget (ours was $25k) and hosted various events, mixers, career guidance, etc. The HOLA (Hispanic Googler network), too, did various activities with our Mexican and Brazilian colleagues– I still have a HOLA t-shirt from them! The ERG influence grew over the years– the Muslim googlers set up the muslim@ email address and got Ramzan food into the food menu. Years later, we Indians were still on a $25k budget, and our money went into hosting Holi and Diwali – primarily festivals. It's not bad, but we could have done better to empower the community.

The Diwali event at the California HQ, saw a 4000+ rush of people to get into the ticketed event. I had a lot of fun planning it– I'd make funny names for each action--I named Wristband distribution "Thakur" (cos he didn't have hands :)); I named lottery allocations, 'Shakuni' and wristband exchange, 'Jugaad'. It was an excellent place for my creativity to flourish, and it helped me solidify that I?indeed?want to be a writer. The ERG can be intoxicating for the evil but also liberating for the truly creative, a discovery platform, a place to learn leadership without needing to be high on the corporate ladder.?It found me tight friendships and a means to be a mentor for other younger ladies who needed an anchor. I am grateful for what it brought into my life.

Favouritism

ERGs have a lead who is generally a person, madly passionate about making the ERG their full-time job and their full-time job their side hustle. There maybe other team members, some with an agenda, which brings in ego and favouritism. I once joked with Search VP Amit Singhal that we were a non-evil "underground mafia".?

I recall an example of favouritism that became public. A VVVIP?was visiting, and entry was ticketed. We, the ERG leads, were deciding how tickets get distributed– employees only or employees + families? A co-lead pushed their shoulder to make it employees + families and wanted a lottery system to pick who goes. We opened it up for invites but then edited the list on the backend to ensure our leads get a ticket. A Googler noticed, and there was a public fight in the group which went like-- 'Hey, you're cheating'?and the co-lead, a master debater,?defended it with, 'Hey, this is probabilistic co-incidence'. It ended with the man swearing to never attend the ERG events.??

I took my COO position seriously. I got elected to it! But I'd pull away from fights like this-- in the way Homer Simpson withdraws into a bush. I could, but didn't-- I could have protested to uphold ethics, but I didn't because the casualty was one ticket versus picking a moral fight with an ERG lead, who was a way better debater than me.?

Indian ERG is a Slave to the West?

When I came to Bangalore, I became the lead for Women in Tech. Same story-- emails open doors-- but on a booster dose because the awe with which people hold a Googler in India is shocking. I could have taken the power far– to the point of activism, which is campaigning, organising and protesting, instead of serving the true purpose of what the ERG is– which is helping, enabling and supporting.?

I recently met at an event in Bangalore, an LGBTQ+ ERG lead (will withhold the name of his company, but take a guess)-- a young man with bleached hair and earrings, and he might as well have been levitating-- his attitude was up there. Throw Inclusion out the window; he represented his ERG as if he's the God that did us a favour, and we must bow down to his ERG.

He was an activist. Not an enabler.

Ugh.

The thing with LGBTQ+ support in India is that you can never question anything– you can't push back, and you can't question them. Indian corporates haven't had the conversation of what Inclusion means in India, and corporates are blindly copying or bullied into copying what the West is pushing as D&I, which is alphabet+.?If there's a black life matters movement in the US, the indian corportaes will support it. MNC's in India have rainbow flags and celebrate pride month, but don't care about what inclusion really means. 24 yr old software engineers are using language like 'gender neutral' and then going to lunch with the same boys group and not inviting their female colleagues to parties outside the office.

Indian corporates haven't had the conversation of what Inclusion means in India, and corporates are blindly copying or bullied into copying what the West is pushing as D&I, which is alphabet+.?

Why is LGBT a priority? What if Inclusion in India means including the girls in the boys' smoke break? What if Inclusion simply means giving a speaker position to a girl in a panel discussion? Or a shy guy? Or hiring more from Arunachal Pradesh? Or Hindi speakers who can't read English good?

Unfortunately, Diversity and Inclusion in Indian corporations come with activism, intoxicated power, and a misunderstanding of what Inclusion stands for. ERG isn't a platform for flash mob dancing and bullying others into supporting you. It's a place to gently support and build a community.?

I stayed a full 12-meter pole distance from the bleached-haired LGBTQ guy from you-know-which-FAANG-company. I am saddened imagining the power this airy man has, of the backing of a $ budget, a?ready audience of 10k+ employees, and a FAANG name next to him.?

Call for accountability?

Don't allow power to get into the head of a guy who doesn't have his head on his shoulders. If you find your ERG lead pushing their agenda, call them out. Don't sit back and take it– they have the backing of their company, but you must show them that their actions aren't without scrutiny.?

Companies can create ERGs focusing on what truly is important to a workplace. Otherwise, it's tempting for me to say, 'I want an ERG for curly-haired girls'?and make a case for it.

If I could do the ERG in the USA, all over again, I'd do this--

1. Host mixers for location-based employees (e.g. employees from Indore)
2. Host language lessons like Sanskrit/Hindi.
3. Counselling - personal and career in the Indian context.?
4. Indian sports events (already did this!)

So tell me, what are your toughts? What's your experience been?