Courtesy of HP
When it comes to windows to the soul, eyes can’t compete with photos.After all, what reflects a person’s personal brand more authentically than images, especially those that we select to commit to paper.
Think about your work space. Whose photos surround you? Family, friends, special moments in your life and career. But what if you felt you couldn’t share your most important people and connections? HP understands that some individuals simply don’t feel safe bringing their whole selves to work. Long a leader in the diversity and inclusion space, the company continues to work to change this experience for all people. In support of that effort, today, HP is launching Proud Portraits, the third spot in the Reinvent Mindsets campaign.
Even though—perhaps because—HP has been at the forefront of building an inclusive workplace (the company’s earliest LGBTQ employee resource groups started more than 30 years ago) it understands the heartbreaking statistics: that 31 percent of closeted employees fear losing connections with coworkers, that 23 percent fear they might not be offered development or advancement opportunities, that nearly one in 10 LGBTQ employees have left a job because the environment was unwelcoming, and that more than one-third of LGBTQ employees had hid their personal lives at work.
But more importantly, HP knows the people behind those statistics. The employee who is participating in a phone-in LGBTQ focus group but is typing her answers because she’s uncomfortable with the possibility that she might be overheard. Or the trans new hire who is nervous about their bathroom options.
HP is working hard to create an empathetic, inclusive environment where employees feel so supported that they are empowered to come out to their friends, family and coworkers.