On Oct. 11, the United States celebrated National Coming Out Day! First observed in 1988 in response to the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on Oct. 11, 1987, over a hundred LGBTQ+ identifying individuals gathered outside Washington, D.C., and decided to create a national day to celebrate coming out.
The goal of National Coming Out Day is to raise awareness of individuals within the LGBTQ+ community and encourage those who identify as LGBTQ+ to “come out” to their family and friends. All around the world, allies celebrate and honor those impacted by the history of the LGBTQ+ movement –- and many do so by wearing rainbow pins or waving flags.
We at Dassault Systèmes are a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community and are fulfilling our promise of creating a workplace of diversity and inclusion with communities, or employee groups, like AMERICAS Pride team. Developed 5 years ago, the Pride team is made up of 20 individuals and allies of the LGBTQ+ community who meet regularly with the goal of making Dassault Systèmes an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone.
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, the Pride team had its first-ever event celebrating National Coming Out day where they launched their new AMERICAS Pride Lanyard Pledge Program. The goal of the Pride Lanyard Pledge Program is to promote an active message of inclusion in the workplace. We believe everyone in the Dassault Systèmes community should feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work and by taking the pledge and wearing the lanyard, employees can share a symbol of support and allyship.
The event was a huge success, with 11 sites participating, and 250 pledges made just in one day. Making the pledge is an ongoing initiative, and anyone, whether they are a part of the LGBTQ+ community or are simply an ally, is encouraged to take it here.
While we have seen a fantastic push in initiatives for our PRIDE team this year, we are also proud of our other ongoing diversity and inclusion initiatives. Between the 3DS WIN (Dassault Systèmes Women’s Initiative) global program and our recent inclusion series, the best is yet to come! We encourage anyone who is a 3DS employee who is interested in keeping this important conversation going to join the 3DS Americas Diversity, Inclusion & Belong (DI&B) community and become a Champion.
