This Pride month, let’s talk about empathy.

This Pride month, let’s talk about empathy.

Pride month is a time of celebration around the world. I am incredibly proud of what our company is doing, and we have an unprecedented number of employees engaged in all of our activities. V Teamers are either marching or volunteering in 19 Pride parades across the country spanning from New York to California, and our retail stores are participating in Pride with messaging in all our owned and operated stores across the nation.

We are also the title sponsor of LA Pride which was the first Pride parade in the nation and we will be premiering the new documentary there, 5B, which showcases the story of everyday heroes who cared for patients in the first HIV/AIDS ward unit in the U.S.

For the second year in a row, we will continue our support for PFLAG National, the nation’s oldest and largest organization uniting the LGBTQ+ community and their families through education and advocacy. Through our support they added 16 new chapters in underserved areas where access to information and resources were previously limited and also strengthened communications infrastructures connecting their other 400 chapters allowing for better information sharing. I am confident that our ongoing partnership will go a long way in making an even greater impact by building programs like Chapter Network support and online education initiatives to help families and their LGBTQ+ loved ones in need of support.

Pride is about breaking down barriers and coming together as communities to lift one another up. Not only do we want to promote equality and inclusion across all spectrums, but we want to create awareness and empathy. Empathy is at the heart of everything we do when we talk about creating an inclusive environment, but sometimes we confuse it with sympathy.

Inclusion in corporate America is often viewed through the lens of sympathy. When we sympathize, we don’t take on a person’s perspective, we feel sorry for them, we try to make them see the positive side of whatever barrier they are facing and hopefully move on.

On the flip side, empathy is all about trying to walk in someone else’s shoes, and it’s not easy. It requires you to be able to see the situation through someone else’s perspective. I mention all of this because empathy is not only essential to true inclusion of all people, it is the lens we worked through when we created this year’s campaign for Pride. 

Last year, our Pride campaign was focused on young adults coming out to their parents. It was a film that was both emotional and celebratory, showing that we are strongest when we are connected.

This year, we continued that same theme, but focused on parents and loved ones to show that these calls don’t always go as planned, with family members struggling to find the right words in the moment.

We know that sometimes these conversations take time. We wanted to give family members another opportunity to reconnect with their LGBTQ+ loved ones.

The short film is called “Love Calls Back” and I hope you will take a look.

The film shows how empathy plays a critical role in these conversations whether they are between two brothers or parents and their children. It was directed by Lee Hirsch who did the award-winning documentary Bully. Lee was able to capture the moment when things shifted for the family member and they were able to feel empathy towards their LGBTQ+ loved one, which changed their outlook on the situation and steered the relationship to a better place.

I am incredibly proud that Verizon was able to be part of that experience and highlight what happens when those connections are established, and I’m even more proud of the work that we do here to celebrate and recognize Pride. Our world gets better when we are more empathetic, and we are just getting started.

-Diego




Diego, how can I apply for for Telco future fund? Many thanks, Peggy

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Katrina Fuhrman MBA PMP

Creator of Magical Moments | Events Marketing & Podcasting Strategist | ConnectorQueen Podcast Host of Becoming You (est. 2024); Winning Wednesday (est. 2020)

4 年

Mario Acosta-Velez?gave a fantastic presentation at this year's PFLAG event, celebrating Inclusion in the Workplace!?https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/katrinafuhrman_vteamers-startrek-advocateaward-activity-6602575093250031617-AXPC So proud to be part of the VTeam! #iamvz?

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Cristina Su, MBA

Financial & Business Management Professional

5 年

Are you partnering with Gary Vaynerchuk ???? and his empathy wine?

Philippe Tytgat

Sr Sales Director West BLOMMER CHOCOLATE COMPANY

5 年

Saw their ads at Pride in West Hollywood: the ads were to the point and very human.

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