Pride & Beyond: Celebrating diversity and allyship at PhonePe

Since the launch of its D&I initiative in March 2021, PhonePe has shown a long-standing commitment towards the thriving LGBTQ+ community in the organization by amplifying their voices within the company. At PhonePe, we believe that everyone deserves to feel like they belong, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Hence, we embraced the theme of “Belong, Thrive” for this year’s Pride Month, to not only raise awareness but also build a stronger sense of community within PhonePe.

We took a unique approach this year and blended our inclusive messaging with humor and relatability.  Kicking things off with a lively stand-up comedy show by Swati Sachdeva, where she spoke about the rich diversity and unique perspectives of the LGBTQ+ community through humor and heartfelt stories. We organized ‘Queer & Here’, an exclusive meet-up for the internal LGBTQ+ community to foster a sense of belonging as well as create a safe space to share their thoughts & experiences. ‘PRIDE in Art 2.0’, an art showcase, commemorated the distinctive experiences of the LGBTQ+ community and ‘Show Some Love’ was a wall of allyship messages where PhonePe-rs shared heartfelt words of support and respect for the community through colorful notes. These events celebrated the beauty, diversity, and spirit of Pride, encouraging everyone to bring their truly unique selves to work.

Our commitment to inclusion extended beyond celebrations; through multiple workplace initiatives like our LGBTQ+ referral campaign which aimed to expand our talent pool with qualified individuals from the community, an LGBTQ+ Readiness survey to help capture our employees’ experience on the dimensions of understanding the LGBTQ+ community and a spectacular Pride-themed lunch that provided a platform for employees to connect and build allyship with colleagues from the LGBTQ+ community.

Let’s hear from PhonePe’s LGBTQ+ Community about what went down at Pride Month this year:

Reminiscing on his journey, Mriganko Saha, Quality Specialist, said, “When I joined PhonePe, what surprised me was how natural it was to work here. The organization’s policies, initiatives and support systems such as gender-neutral washrooms and regular LGBTQ+ awareness sessions made me feel secure and empowered. The internal mixer that was organized for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month filled me with gratitude as I got to interact with employees from different departments and backgrounds, share my experiences and opinions and learn more about how focused the organization is on being inclusive. The most memorable Pride Month activity was the Pride-themed lunch that was organized for all employees. I deeply appreciate the company’s efforts in nurturing a workplace that makes our community feel safe and included.”

Ishita Sarkar, Product Designer, said, “I loved that the organization took this opportunity during Pride Month, to sensitize all employees about the community and circulated a LGBTQ+ readiness survey. This initiative helped measure PhonePe’s preparedness to enable employees from the community and their perceived acceptance by colleagues. The survey report gave me immense hope as I found out that my team performed quite well with improved scores compared to last year. The networking and community-building event that was organized was quite exciting for me as the LGBTQ+ community at PhonePe met officially for the first time to discuss challenges and acknowledge our visibility in the organization. The key takeaway from the event was how PhonePe has taken a step forward in the right direction by introducing inclusive health coverage for employees from the community. All in all, I absolutely enjoyed every bit of Pride Month celebrations and initiatives this year at PhonePe.”

Mohit Singh, Senior Product Operations Analyst, added, “This year’s Pride Month celebrations at PhonePe reaffirmed a sense of belonging and togetherness, amongst the community and allies. Witnessing the zest with which folks participated in all the events evidenced the queer-positive environment of the organization. It cemented my belief in PhonePe’s continuous efforts to foster an inclusive workplace where diversity is celebrated. I am truly looking forward to keeping the spirit of Pride alive @ PhonePe. A huge shoutout to everyone who participated and made it such a grand success!”

Pride at PhonePe is more than a month-long celebration. It’s a continuous journey towards building a workplace where everyone thrives. We’re committed to amplifying LGBTQ+ voices, fostering allyship, and creating a space where everyone feels like they belong.