Pride at Now: Fulfilling a true sense of belonging

Ever felt isolated at work? We all have—especially in the past year.

For many LGBTQ+ colleagues, isolation has historically been part of the workplace equation. As a part of a population that has been marginalized, many have been pressured to not bring their whole and authentic selves to work. That can be draining—even exhausting.

Pride at Now is working to change that for all those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.

“When you aren’t allowed to be your true self, you’re not giving yourself the opportunity to fully blossom as an employee or as a person,” says Steve T., senior operations manager and Pride at Now co-chair. “Pride at Now is helping us figure out how we can better foster a culture that allows everyone to be their authentic self.”

As one of ServiceNow’s seven Belonging Groups, Pride’s mission is simple: Achieve LGBTQ+ equity at ServiceNow by promoting diversity through cultural change, inclusive policy, and global practices.

It’s working. In fact, earlier this year—for the first time—ServiceNow received a score of 100% in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), its annual assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality.

“Earning a perfect score is great news—and I believe it will pay dividends when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent who care about diversity,” says Pride at Now co-chair Matt L., who heads our customer experience strategy.

Matt is quick to add that we can’t rest on our laurels. “There’s still a lot of envelope-pushing that needs to be done in terms of being LGBTQ+ world-class.”

Kenneth R., senior manager, event marketing, agrees. “The HRC honor means we’re moving in the right direction,” he says. “External awards are great. However, what’s more important is that we recognize internally that we’re changing the culture to be more inclusive for all.”

How we got to a place of belonging

So, just how did we ace the HRC Foundation’s CEI? Several factors contributed.

Our longstanding investment in Workplace Protections and Inclusive Benefits—foundational elements of the CEI criteria—played a central role. Another key was launching Pride at Now, as well as supporting external LGBTQ+ organizations and events.

Kenneth says a major proof point for him was the Pride panel discussion held in June 2020.

“Just having an open, true conversation about what it means to be gay in corporate America—and having our CEO and senior leadership be a part of the conversation—is something I had never experienced at other companies,” Kenneth says. “It showed me ServiceNow doesn’t shy away from the conversation and that there’s an active engagement factor here for LGBTQ+ equality that simply doesn’t exist at most places.”

Continuing the inclusive path

Matt says it’s essential that we continue to examine our human resource policies and benefits from an LGBTQ+ perspective—in the U.S. and globally. He adds, “Looking ahead, I’d like to see us do a better job of tracking key metrics, such as LGBTQ+ promotions, compensation, and new hires.”

Although there’s more work to do, it’s clear we’re headed in the right direction. “I’m proud of ServiceNow’s investment in—and commitment to—DIBs,” Matt says, referring to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. “Just the act of participating in the CEI shows our current employees, prospective employees, and all ServiceNow stakeholders that we care about equality and the LGBTQ+ community.

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