2020: Note 37 - Newfound Hope

Last year, I met a colleague who was newly involved in the Inclusion & Diversity space at my company. He was attempting to get an Employee Resource Group (ERG) toghter.

ERGs are employee-led affinity groups comprised of members that have something in common and want to meet together to discuss unique challenges, relevant company policies, plan events, etc. Often, ERGs include allies -- for example, companies may have a Pride ERG that includes members of the LGBT+ community as well as their allies.

When he invited people to join the ERG, response was minimal and it was disheartening. At that point, it would have been easy to give up. Instead, this man decided to try a new approach to establish the ERG, which he passionately believes is necessary and important for our company (I agree with him). He got some allies involved to help amplify the message and things started to build from there.

I am so glad he tried again. He chose hope over withdrawal and the results show it was worth it.