I believe most of us at some point in our lives have experienced a feeling like we don’t belong. As a Hispanic woman in tech, I am very familiar with this feeling. When I joined Rubrik in 2019, I quickly realized that there was not a large Hispanic/Latin representation. One great thing about working at Rubrik is the ability to help build a corporate culture and community, regardless of your job title. To help build more representation and inclusivity within Rubrik’s workforce, several weeks after joining, I founded ¡Adelante! (which translates from Spanish to “go forward”), an Employee Resource Group (ERG) to raise awareness about, celebrate, and empower Hispanic and Latinx employees.
ERGs are entirely employee-led and build a collective voice within the company around shared issues that help promote an inclusive, respectful workplace. I believe ERGs play an important role in integrating a diverse workforce and help keep employees engaged and motivated by giving them a sense of inclusion, especially for those underrepresented. Additionally, research and studies by McKinsey & Company show ERGs can benefit an organization and its employees and help talent attraction, recruitment, retention, engagement, development, and market outreach. It’s a win-win for all.
¡Adelante! launched in September 2019. Our mission is to develop a network of employees and promote the cultural diversity and professional development of our members, creating an inclusive environment for the Hispanic/Latino community while contributing to the success of Rubrik’s overall mission.
As an ERG Leader, it is important to me that I empower and uplift our members to give them the opportunity to develop both personally and professionally. One of the ways ¡Adelante! has done this is by consciously “sharing the spotlight.” For each of our events, we rotate who will own the roles of facilitator, logistics, and marketing. It gives people the opportunity to push themselves to get out of their comfort zone and try new things like public speaking, strengthen project management skills, and learn how to work with data and measure success. These are valuable and transferable skills that can be taken anywhere.
¡Adelante! is now a year old, and fostering a diverse culture is something we take pride in. We’ve had an amazing year and a bright future ahead of us. Some event highlights from the past year include:
- Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, Corporate Partnership: HFSV is dedicated to inspiring community philanthropy and engagement to invest in the educational excellence, leadership development, and research of the Hispanic community to improve the quality of life for Latinos in Silicon Valley.
- Día de los Muertos Celebration: This year, we are holding a virtual event to share the culture and traditions of Day of the Dead. Participating employees will receive kits to decorate their own sugar skulls and learn more about the significance of the holiday.
- Cafecito con Series: Every quarter, we host a Cafecito con event, where Rubrik employees, especially those from underrepresented communities, share their personal stories, perspectives, and cultivate deeper connections.
- Panel Discussion: In partnership with the HFSV and Western Digital, we hosted a highly-attended webinar with an amazing panel to talk about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and why it’s important in the workplace.
We just wrapped up our celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month with the following exciting events:
- Educational Content: Every week during HHM, we shared resources to honor and celebrate the many influential Hispanic and Latinx individuals who have made significant impacts to advocacy and change, such as Cesar Chavez, Sonia Sotomayor, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, General Richard E. Cavazos, Dolores Huerta, and Roberto Clemente.
- Careers in Tech Panel Discussion: A virtual chat with an all Hispanic/Latin panel of professionals, outside of Rubrik, who shared personal insights, career journeys, adversity, and guidance.
- Mexican Cooking Class: A professional chef taught us, virtually, from Mexico City, how to make tacos, salsa, and fresh tortillas.
- ERG Social: A virtual networking event, with fellow ERG leaders, members, and individuals passionate about Diversity and Inclusion to learn about our challenges, successes, and how we can help each other as we continue to move forward.
I am extremely proud of all we have accomplished. I look forward to the year ahead and continuing our celebrations year-round. This has been an extremely rewarding experience and I encourage everyone to get involved in a company ERG. Ask people to join you, build relationships, and enjoy the experience!
Interested in joining a company that emphasizes corporate culture and employee empowerment? Check out our open positions.