At Foundever™, a global leader in the customer experience (CX) industry, diversity is championed – it’s not just lip service.
The company received a rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars for diversity and inclusion from established job platform Glassdoor, a top 5% ranking for work culture by compensation monitoring platform Comparably . It was named a diversity leader by the Financial Times and Statista in 2023.
“Diversity has always been one of Foundever’s best attributes,” said Asia Pacific Chief Operating Officer Ravi Iyengar during his opening remarks at the company’s recent #PrideSummit in the Philippines.
“Our customers come from different cultures, groups, and gender identities. So it is fitting that our people are equally diverse. This allows us to look at problems from different angles and provide better solutions,”
This is reflected in the company’s recent My Associate Experience (MAX) survey, where 86% of Foundever employees said that diversity is valued within the organization.
Iyengar added, “To our fellow members of the LGBTQIA+ community, please know that you are not only welcomed at Foundever, you are celebrated. This is where you can always create your best moments. Foundever will always be one a safe place where you are free to love and express who you are.
The Founder #PrideSummit in the Philippines is part of the company’s many CSR initiatives aimed at amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices by supporting their culture and rights. This year, it is focused on promoting diversity in the workplace, as well as HIV awareness and allyship within the community.
A home, not a clinic
A strong advocate of HIV awareness and education, the Founder has LoveYourself Inc. founder and executive director Dr. Ronnievin Pagtakhan as the keynote speaker at the Pride Summit. A renowned medical practitioner who has been working in the United States for some time, Dr. Pagtakhan dedicates his knowledge and skills to creating a safe space where people with HIV or sexually transmitted infections can get support.
LoveYourself started in 2011 as an outreach program, then opened its first community center a year later with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicines. Today, LoveYourself is the largest self-sustaining HIV and sexual health treatment facility in the Philippines, with 15 locations nationwide. The center offers a combination of prevention that includes HIV testing, condoms, and lubricants, use of pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, and treatment as prevention.
“I have a vision to create a community center for men in the LGBTQIA+ community that is more like a safe space. When you go there, it’s not like a clinic; it looks like a house. It’s like a community away from the family,” said Dr. Take a step. “We want to create ripples of positive change, one free HIV test at a time.
LoveYourself now has a mental health care service called Flourish. Included by Dr. Step up the extra offering with the help of Mental Health PH when several community members developed anxiety and depression before the COVID-19 pandemic. Flourish by LoveYourself also supports those experiencing anxiety while undergoing treatment. Last June 26, Foundever partnered with LoveYourself PH for a company-wide free HIV testing activity.
Allyship: More than cheerleading
According to Foundever Chief Marketing Officer Martin Wilkinson-Brown, in his speech, many claim to be allies of the LGBTQIA+ community, but they do not know that it is not easy to be one.
“Being an ally is not just being a cheerleader, although advocating and cheering for the community is absolutely part of it. An ally takes time to see things from a different perspective, and provides support to LGBTQIA+ members who may not be as fortunate or in the same position as them,” Brown said.
He added that being an ally takes practice, something one cannot do all at once, and it is over. It should be something that continues as the Founder’s commitment to creating a safe workspace, providing colleagues with equal access to equal opportunities for career growth, and building a culture built on dignity. and respect.
“While our three global commitments alone do not create allies, they create a safe space where people can ask questions without being judged and where they can be themselves and freely share their stories, ” said Wilkinson-Brown.
“From this an ally will be born.”
The Founder Pride Summit in the Philippines also held a panel discussion to address concerns specific to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and the LGBTQIA+ community. The panel consisted of Wilkinson-Brown, Dr. Ronnievin Pagtakhan, Pamela Donato, Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Habijan, independent career coach and DEI consultant Chris Eugenio, and Outright Action International project coordinator for Asia Ging Cristobal. The discussion touched on the importance of celebrating Pride month and the hotly debated SOGIE bill.
