Diversity, inclusion and belonging

I don't feel that I can have a label put on me because I am made up of so many little things. I really enjoy local history. I love to bake. I love to experiment with desserts. I also love to travel and have been to some cool places over the past handful of years.

I taught myself how to program computers at the age of 13. Growing up with a visual disability, I naturally gravitated toward computers and assistive technology, believing strongly that they held the key to my future education and career success. Having a computer with synthesized speech allowed me to type my reports and have content read back to me while I was in school. Throughout my career, assistive technologies have given me access to email, calendars, the web, and everything else that my sighted colleagues have. I have always been interested in communication, and my role now motivates me to be a good manager and a good communicator.

Throughout my life, I realized that hiding or playing down my disability isn’t in my best interest. It's who I am. I have a disability and I should own that; one of the ways that I can do so is by owning my own story. I think that most people who get labeled really are so much more than just what's in that label or what's behind that label. Maybe if people are seeing this, maybe they'll realize, “You know what? My story is pretty interesting, too. Maybe I want to share it as well.”

The whole life process of finding our own identity is hard enough. But in ServiceNow's culture of belonging, who I am is not only acknowledged and welcomed but even celebrated. I think that's the jackpot.

There's something about this place from the minute you step in that makes you ask…is it the people? Is it the purpose? And once you're here for a while, you understand that it's all of it, together. It's the culture. There's this undercurrent of passion that I can feel when I interact with different people and I see that there's a place here for everybody.

The concept of diversity is a no brainer. Shared success equals more success. The more that I involve and include people, the different kinds of people that I welcome into my life and work, the better and more informed my perspectives are. One of the common things among all of us is how different we are.

But when things get hard, that's when we come together. Especially now. We make space to accommodate each other. That's something that I have seen firsthand. While work is an integral part of my life, there's also other stuff that life keeps flinging at me. The mindset here is very understanding and it's very inspiring.

Every time I've interacted with somebody in my team, they've made me a person first and a co-worker second. They ask me about how I'm doing, how things are with my family - and that really helps me feel confident that yes, they see me as a person, for who I am, and where I'm at.

That, I think, is amazing.

I'm from a family of immigrants. My parents were born and raised in Panama. Spanish was their first language. But they faced economic challenges there and wanted to provide a future for their children with more education and career opportunities for success. So, my parents left behind their family and friends in Panama to move to the United States. My father joined the U.S. Air Force. They stationed him in Bermuda, where I was born, and then we moved to California.

My family faced discrimination, which made it difficult to secure housing and I knew then that I must be someone who creates equality in the world. I want people of different races and other identities to be treated fairly. I earned a joint JD and MBA degree to defend and support people who experience social injustice and face economic disadvantages. It means so much to me to give back to and support my communities. And yet, when people look at me, they make assumptions about who I am and the scope of my potential, but their assumptions are rarely accurate. I’m Hispanic, Black, Caribbean, and an immigrant.

I can share my story and be my authentic self at ServiceNow. For us, empathy and belonging are at the core of our culture. My colleagues celebrate my many layered experiences because they value my point of view. My peers listen with respect and an open mind and the company contributes to the causes I serve. When I come to work, there’s a palpable growth mindset here. I am respected, listened to, I feel safe, and I am at the table influencing the strategy of the company. This company has a purpose I truly believe in. It also sees and believes in me.

Companies like ServiceNow bring people and community together. I see this every day at work. I am a member of one of the communities that brings a lot of diversity, inclusion, and belonging…the LGBTQ+ community. I moved from Colombia and was living in the US for seven years where I met my Dutch partner. We've been in the Netherlands for 10 years now and together 13 years. I moved for love.

My team at work enjoys working together and part of the reason is because we are really diverse. We have Dutch. We have someone from Cameroon. My colleague is from Guyana. Another was born in Aruba, raised in Venezuela. It’s the variety of backgrounds and people in the group that makes it a really fun place to work. I’m always learning.

The difference in coming to a growing company is that there is a lot to do. There is a lot to support, to give, to help, to build, to bring that sense of belonging because you are part of it. You're part of the change and you're part of the growth.

Like many people, I was kind of waiting to get out of my shell somehow and expressing myself. I wish I would have found ServiceNow 20 years ago to help me get this sense of confidence for the person that I am. At ServiceNow, I am free to speak, to be who I am. I have never felt so free and accepted. I don't feel any restrictions. I say, "This is me," and I think that says everything.