By Hervé Tessler
(From the editor: Hervé Tessler is president of Corporate Operations at Xerox, as well as the corporate executive champion for GALAXe Pride At Work, the LGBT Employee Caucus Group at Xerox.)
Violent acts remind us that we must all come together, finding strength and looking out for each other in the world community we share. The horrifying shooting rampage in Orlando, touched all of us — around the world — with deepest sadness and loss. We are all wounded by this violence against the LGBT community.
At Xerox, we believe our best response is to ground ourselves in our values of diversity and inclusion. This is a testament of our commitment to our people, our company values and LGBT equality. We recognize that we are a stronger company because of our diverse employee population. And, we know we enhance our work environment by supporting our LGBT employees and allies.
Xerox is a long-time sponsor of the Out and Equal Workplace Summit, and we look forward to our support of this year’s Summit in Orlando. That’s because our employees always take what they’ve learned at the workshops in order to conduct teach-backs at Xerox. The results bring to us best practices on diversity and inclusion in our workplaces around the world, and vital insight into policies that support implementation.
We live our best, as individuals and professionals, when we work in the spirit of our non-discrimination policies and practices, and when we learn from – and support – each other. We must come together now, not out of fear and sorrow, but through a renewed commitment to tolerance and inclusion.
Selisse Berry, founder & CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, expressed the opportunity before us: “We call on you to be your authentic self, at work and wherever you go. If you’re LGBT– being out is an act of bravery and love, and I am with you. If you’re an ally — thank you for speaking up and standing with us.”
