One of the pitfalls of being both LGBT+ and a Person of Colour (POC) is the impact of unconscious bias in the workplace often resulting in feelings of needing to ‘hide’ these facets of myself, or overcompensate other parts of my identity in order to assimilate into my team or to demonstrate myself as a good match to the company culture. Being represented through the Affinity Networks at Incubeta has not only built my confidence and encouraged me to be more open about my experiences, but has also provided me with opportunities to build stronger relationships with my colleagues.
Diversity & Inclusion
One of the many aspects that made Incubeta such an attractive place to work is the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives that are so heavily ingrained in the heart of the business. When I joined the D&I Committee in January 2021, besides promoting the inclusivity of those from marginalized backgrounds such as POC and LGBT+ etc, I had no prior knowledge on the breadth of impact D&I initiatives have across recruitment, training and company culture.
Since joining the committee, I’ve been able to further expand my contribution to the business outside of my role as a primary role as a PPC Analyst – such as providing support on Microaggression Training and supporting the Affinity Networks. Both of which provided me with the necessary tools to drive approachable and actionable change to the company wide culture. Whilst the work of D&I continues to evolve within the internal business, I’ve also been able to recognise the importance of inclusive digital marketing into my day-to-day role.
As consumer brands strive to become as customer-centric as possible, understanding their audience has become a pivotal part in ensuring effective digital campaigns are made. In fact it was no surprise to learn that in a U.S. Google Survey conducted in 2019, 64% of those surveyed took some sort of action after seeing an ad they deemed to be diverse or inclusive.
Building inclusive campaigns that resonate with a brand’s core audience, and provide an accurate representation of society allows businesses to further their reach and access wider customer pools, which in turn leads to increased customer engagement and loyalty.
I’m fortunate enough to work at a company that provides a stage to highlight important social issues across various aspects of society, which is why being able to celebrate Pride at Incubeta is important to me. Being able to speak freely on previously taboo topics at work that would have otherwise been difficult to bring up outside of a safe space has been extremely liberating – especially in data-driven, client-facing environments, where there’s often no role model in senior positions from a marginalized group such as LGBT+, and I think this is what keeps people in the closet.
That’s why I got involved with Incubeta’s D&I Committee and the wider Affinity Networks to encourage the importance of being yourself at work.