What has it meant for me to be an ALLY?

What has it meant for me to be an ALLY?

June 28, 1970 (50 years AGO!!) celebrated the first PRIDE march in NYC on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Last Monday, the US Supreme Court issued a landmark victory for LGBTQ equality affirming that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected under the Civil Rights Act.

I am proud to have spent the past 26 years working for a company and with a team that promotes equality and doesn’t need legislation to be on the forefront of doing the right thing. I have been an ally and a member of GE’s GLBTA affinity network for more than 10 years. This past week, I have found myself reflecting on what it has meant for me to have been an ally for so long. This network, this community has given me the opportunity to learn what it means to be in a LGBT family, to advocate for others, to educate leaders … to grow as a person and as a leader.

Fourteen years ago, this month, we adopted our first son, Akim, from Russia. As my husband and I were working through decisions on expanding our family, we knew very little about adoption. During this time, a close colleague and her partner were going through a domestic adoption in the US. In their case, the birth mother decided late in the process (after the birth) to choose different parents.  My colleague was devastated but didn’t give up on her dream of being a mom. She and her wife adopted two beautiful children from Russia. She introduced us to the international adoption world and the option to explore Russia. I am so thankful for that friendship and the door it opened me.

Ten years ago, I worked with and supported a senior leader who was a strong champion for diversity. However, he shared with me that he “had a problem with” the GLBTA community as he didn’t agree with that “lifestyle choice” and as a result could not support them. This prompted an opportunity to discuss and explore what it means to be a leader. I shared with him how it is our responsibility as leaders to advocate for others to bring their whole self to work. Not only is it the morally correct choice but the productive one as well. As allies, we create an environment where all our team members feel welcome to share their families and family stories at work. When as leaders we build personal relationships with our employees, we facilitate allowing them to bring their full self and all the energy that comes from that to our teams. Fortunately, he listened, learned and changed his view and actions.

In 2013, we relocated to Houston and there we had an amazing opportunity to broaden our cultural awareness as a family. At the same time, I became the HR Champion for the GLBTA in our business. In this role, I was able to leverage my connections within the GE HR community to facilitate equal treatment under our benefit programs.  Although we had coverage that supported domestic partners, I discovered a couple of areas where our reproductive/fertility benefit plans were written from the assumption of a male-female parenting scenario. With a few phone calls, we were able to approve support so that all women could access fertility benefits. During this time, I also received a call from a field engineering leader who was on an expat assignment from Italy to Brazil. He and his husband were working through a surrogate in the US to start their family. I was so proud of our GE HR and benefits team who helped me facilitate a cross border benefit strategy to cover the birth of two beautiful twin girls. It was a thrill to be part of building this family and an even greater thrill be able to travel to Italy and meet this employee and his two daughters in person.

I am blessed to have an opportunity to be an Ally. I am also privileged to work for a company like GE and with teams who actively advocate for equal opportunity, advancement, and support.  #GEProud