Three Ways to Foster an Inclusive Work Culture during Pride and Beyond
Jun 21, 2022
Working at a global company like Axon provides exposure to a broad mix of backgrounds and experiences. This diversity among colleagues leads to more productive conversations, intriguing approaches to problem solving, profound creativity, and long-term commitment among employees. Axon Allies, one of six Axon affinity groups, makes working at Axon a more authentic experience for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies.
Two people know this very well are Aimee Bervel (she/hers) and Shawn Summa (he/his). Aimee, a quality systems specialist, has seen many changes during her first decade at Axon. She founded Axon Allies three years ago as a way to build a safe space at Axon. Shawn Summa, a senior director, stepped up as an active leader for the group after only 3 months with the company.
Axon Allies was created during Pride month 2019 after a wildly successful Phoenix Pride which boasted over 70 Axon attendees. In response to a clear signal that community and conversation are desired by its workforce, Axon's leadership team, spearheaded by Elizabeth Hart, SVP of People Operations, reached out to Aimee with a request to start an affinity group for allies and the LGBTQIA+ community. She submitted a proposal letter, which was approved, and then the real work began. Aimee started reaching out to all the Axon offices, domestic and international. Each office provided a lead to help promote and grow Axon Allies.
That year, Axon Allies signed the pledge with One Community declaring Axon is open to all. Today, the group has grown to more than 200 members, all focused on fostering an inclusive culture.
“Being new to Axon, I was excited to see our affinity groups and wanted to help continue fostering that positive experience,” said Shawn. “This is why I decided to become one of the leaders of the Axon Allies group. The more versatility and inclusiveness a group brings to Axon, the better. I enjoy knowing I'm a part of the community that makes Axon Allies a safe place to learn and grow.”
Pride Month 2022
This June, Axon will participate in Pride parades and other external celebrations, such as the Seattle Mariners Pride Game and a Phoenix Mercury game. They are also focused on internal team building and educational opportunities, including hosting an Axon Allies brunch, delivering Safezone training, and screening the documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.
Pride Month is just one way to both educate team members on LGBTQIA+ issues and build community. Here are three tips Axon Allies shared with us about how they foster a safe place all year long:
1. Provide Support to LGBTQIA+ Individuals
First and foremost, the role of an employee resource group is to provide support to identifying members on relevant matters to the community. Both Shawn and Aimee offer mentoring for LGBTQIA+ individuals as colleagues, friends and leaders. This can be formal and informal.
Aimee, Shawn and other Allies leaders help people feel comfortable being out and proud in the office. New members of Axon can find it hard to decide how vulnerable to be. If someone wants to know how to mention their partner, work in their pronouns or learn to have confidence and authenticity in the workplace, Shawn and Aimee welcome these conversations.
Another clear focus area for the Allies group is philanthropy. For example, Axon Allies raises donations for Queermas with One n Ten, which ensures young folx don’t go without gifts during the holiday season. The Allies group also participates in food drives for St. Mary's food bank.
2. Provide company-wide training and foster an “ally” community
Axon allies also shares lessons and offers informative sessions in the workplace meant to help educate anyone interested in learning more. Shawn’s goal with the educational line-up is to “improve on the available information about LGBTQIA+ history, rights and related conversations.” One recent educational opportunity was focused on the significance of May 17th to the LGBTQIA+ community.
May 17th is known as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT). The date was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
Informative sessions are available to every member of Axon, and the Axon Allies group is ready to answer questions for allies just as quickly as they are for LGBTQIA+ members. Those with questions or who want to know when the next general info session is scheduled, please reach out to Aimee or Shawn, or join the #Axon_Allies Slack channel.
Axon Allies deliberately focuses on building an allyship community. This can be as simple as putting one’s pronouns on email signatures, Slack handles and in your Zoom screen name. In doing so, allies are participating in creating safe spaces for everyone to be open with their pronouns. Normalizing pronouns is part of building a supportive community, which is why Axon encourages employees as well as customers to identify their pronouns. Axon is always looking for more ways best practices can be implemented into their products and materials so that safe spaces are further extended to their global network of customers and communities.
3. Demonstrate leadership to earn buy-in and support for all
Axon leadership and a meaningful investment in supporting Axon Allies has been clear from the start of affinity groups. They not only fully support employee participation in affinity groups, most importantly, they are visibly present at Allies events. Founder and CEO Rick Smith personally joined Axon Allies at 2019 Phoenix Pride and C-suite leaders are consistently active for Axon Allies lunches and on our Slack channels.
Both Aimee and Shawn noted supervisor support for their volunteer roles as Axon Allies leaders. Shawn, in particular, noted that his supervisor, Amanda King, Vice President of Software Services, is the executive sponsor of the Allies group and she makes sure Shawn has time to stay involved. He describes this level of support, “despite busy schedules, there is always a way to collaborate and coordinate; to continue to make room for and protect the work of Axon Allies and grow the safe space they promote.”
"Fostering an environment of trust, respect and empowerment goes well beyond work tasks," continued Amanda. "It must be apparent in all aspects of human interaction. At Axon, I am proud that we walk that walk with our amazing and diverse team!"
Bring your full and true self to work
Axon understands we have a responsibility to create a more just and inclusive workplace and world through our products, technology and people. Our goal is to build diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve. Axon core values include acting as one global team and delivering candor with respect, always assuming positive intent.
“LGBTQIA+ individuals, and all individuals from underserved communities who are wondering what it’s like to work at Axon, can feel reassured that they will not just be accepted but encouraged to bring their full and true selves to work,” said Matt Caldwell, LDP, Business Analyst.
Shawn echoes this sentiment.
Part of the reason Shawn chose Axon is because Axon has a positive atmosphere, from the boots on the ground to the managerial and executive branches. Axon’s values were talked about and supported from the beginning of his tenure. The company is adaptable and enthusiastically embraces change as the world changes. Aimee also expresses that she feels as if she has a family here, across job and department changes throughout her career at Axon.
Axon’s six global Affinity Groups are core pathways for engaging employees in our JEDI work, providing places for members to discuss needs and solutions for underserved communities of focus, while also fostering belonging and professional development. JEDI — which stands for Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion — is critical to our corporate vision and one of four long-term strategic goals for the company.
Axon Careers
We are on a mission to Protect Life. We’re building technology to change the world, pursuing society’s most formidable safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. If this sounds like a mission you would like to be a part of, check out our resources below:
- Follow us on LinkedIn.
- Read more about Axon Careers.
- Explore our benefits.
- Search for open positions.
