Our Pride motto for 2023 is 'Let me tell you...about me, about us, about our community". Through this, we aim to amplify the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community and give them space to tell the story of how they express themselves. In this article, join four of our colleagues at Zalando who are members of our LGBTQIA+ employee resource group, Jule, Salvatore, Jenny, and Michele, as they share their stories and perspectives on self-expression, self-evolution, societal progress, representation, and role modeling.
Meet Jule, Salvatore, Jenny, and Michele:
Jule: "I'm Jule. I'm a Lead Business Partner at Zalando. I consider myself a lesbian, and I'm also a Berliner."
Salvatore: "Hi, I'm Salvatore. I'm Italian, I'm a dancer, and I'm queer."
Jenny: "I'm Jenny, I'm a mother to a two-year-old son, and I work in People Enablement at Zalando. I'm a pansexual woman and consider myself a member of the polyamorous community and the LGBTQIA+ community."
Michele: "I'm Michele, Equality Manager, and I identify as a non-binary, gender-fluid person."
Let me tell you... about me
In this video, Jule, Salvatore, Jenny, and Michele discuss self-expression and their self-evolution to become more comfortable with the way that they express themselves. They share details about their individual style, their journey to embracing themselves, and the feeling of home that they have found for themselves in Berlin.
Let me tell you... about us
Jule and Jenny continue the conversation and discuss what is still challenging as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, representation, and bringing up children in a heteronormative society. Jule shares her perspective on the importance of role models in companies and media, and how she is working to become a better role model. Jenny describes the challenge of not having role models, and becoming a role model for her two-year-old son.
Salvatore and Michele discuss societal progress, what masculinity means to them, and the importance of representation. Michele shares their experience of campaigning for same-sex civil partnership recognition in San Marino, and their thoughts around masculinity. Salvatore tells us about his experience winning the GQ Men of the Year award in the category 'New Masculinity', and his thoughts on the evolution of masculinity as a concept. Salvatore also shares the impact that the award had on him, and how he boosts the visibility of minorities through his work in influencer marketing, making an impact on campaigns such as 'Let me tell you...'.
Let me tell you... about our community
Jule, Salvatore, Jenny, and Michele explore the topics of role modeling and allyship. Jenny explains how she is working to create a safe space for her son to be able to express himself. Jule tells us about her work in mentorship and the importance of visibility at work. Salvatore emphasizes that a good role model is just not only a role model in your own letter of the LGBTQIA+ community but also to be an ally to the other letters. Michele expands on this, and shares their wish for more people to go beyond 'love is love', and move into 'life is life'. Michele also highlights:
"We need to create a social environment that is more inclusive and less prejudiced, and simply support each other. We are loud, but to be loud, we need to stay together."
In Zalando, ERGs are voluntary groups organized and formed by employees on the basis of shared identity or experience. They enhance the workplace experience and are linked to our do.BETTER Diversity and Inclusion Strategy’s commitments to create an inclusive workplace for our talents.
For more information about our ERGs and Zalando’s D&I strategy please visit our D&I hub here.
