Latinx at ServiceNow: Community and corazón

First college graduate. First engineer. First Latinx hire. So many firsts stand out for the founding members of ServiceNow’s belonging group, Latinx at Now. And working together, they are focused on evolving the culture so others can achieve their own firsts.   

 Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month across the company, Latinx at Now co-lead Lucia Olaechea-Randall is excited by the growing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIBs) awareness. Latinx belonging group events educated us that Hispanic is about language, and Latinx is a gender-neutral term for a diaspora of cultures spanning geography, languages, generations, and values tied to family and community. In a highly praised presentation, Dr. Juana Bordas, President, Mestiza Leadership International, encouraged allyship among non-Latinos, who are welcomed as Latinx by Corazón. 

 Lucia has seen the changes that “ServiceNow has made to become a more inclusive and diverse culture.” That’s in stark contrast to 2012, when she was the first LATAM region sales hired in a mostly white male-dominated sales organization. The challenges Lucia has faced in her career motivated her to step into a leadership role with the belonging group.   

“For the longest time I didn't feel like I belonged. It's been a long road but that has finally changed. I'm Hispanic. I'm Latina. I'm from Peru. And that's my identity.”   

Carla Goldsberry, who immigrated from Mexico City when she was 19 years old, had paved the way in San Diego fourteen years ago. The first woman in the company, Carla became the executive assistant to the CEO. She didn’t think it was a big deal, but her friends in Mexico did.

“They were just so proud of me. I kept thinking, ‘Okay, well maybe it is a big deal.’ I'm the only Latina in this role in the company.”   

 Joining the belonging group at Lucia’s invitation, Carla says, “This group, it's cool. We network and we talk best practices. We educate people about the culture, language, stereotypes, and it's fun.”    

Latinx at Now co-lead Jennifer Boicic, who manages the strategic alliance with Microsoft, values that opportunity to connect. “I've always been the only Latina on my team and having this group has been so important for me to feel that connectedness.”    

Jennifer’s own recruitment story earlier this year exemplifies the growing emphasis on diversity.    

“I didn't apply to ServiceNow on my own. My senior director literally found me and then messaged me on LinkedIn, where my Latinx tags are on my profile. We did an interview. I went on site. And now I'm here so it goes to show the power of hiring managers wanting to hire diverse talent.”   

Raised by a single mother from Peru, Jennifer is the first in her family to graduate with an engineering degree and MBA. She was taught to embrace education as a game changer.   

“My mom always instilled in me the value of education. That's how you change your reality, how you change your dynamics, your financial situation.”

That view is shared by Victor Paredes-Colonia, who joined ServiceNow just over a year ago as an ITAM Principal Product Success Manager, enabling our customers to get maximum value out of their investments. Victor’s parents were originally from Colombia.    

 “Being a child of immigrants, I think many of us have that deep passion for getting a really good education so that you can improve your current standing. My father always stressed, ‘Your generation needs to be better than mine and your child's generation needs to be better than you.’”  

 This is a driving force for positive change in the group, and the company culture gives them a solid starting point.   

 Carla says, “Where else are you going to learn from so many people? It's like having your own master class every time you have a meeting here. People are brilliant. They're very smart, intelligent, always willing to teach, listen, and learn.”    

And for Jennifer, as to why she chose to take on this leadership role, “It's all about leaving your legacy and leaving something behind for the next generation. I feel like there's so much opportunity at ServiceNow to bring a sense of belonging—to have our group be that force for setting the foundation for the future of the company. And what we want it to be.”   

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