Cultivating Our Soil of People: How We Foster an Inclusive Environment for the LGBTIQ+ Community at Logitech
A few weeks ago we celebrated the departure of our longest lasting colleague. He had been a part of Logitech for 40 years, pretty much from day one. I stood there listening to Denis’ stories on the first mouse, the co-invention of the USB protocol (that pretty much every tech accessory on this planet is still leveraging), and so many other successes and failures.
But what struck me the most was « how the heck had Denis been with Logitech for FORTY years ? » what had made him stay pretty much his whole career at Logitech?
People. Product. Passion. These were the words of Logitech’s founder, Daniel Borel.
For Denis, it was really People, Passion, and Product. In that order.
And this is also what I believe in the most. Passion comes from great people coming together. The people of Logitech, the LogiPeople as we call ourselves, are a people first crowd. Our energy and passion coming together help us deliver the best experiences (and products) to our customers.
Cultivating a people first culture is taking care of the soil from which emerges the best ideas, the best solutions, the best products and experiences for all the people out there.
Throughout my career as a designer, I quickly understood that people would be the strongest muscle I’d have to develop to become successful at what I’m doing. Getting people from different cultures, stories, experiences, expertise areas and backgrounds to confront each other in a healthy and productive way has always led to the best products out there. At least for us, at Logitech.
This is why it’s so important for me as LogiPride Lead (the LGBTIQ+ employee group of Logitech) to keep cultivating our soil of people. To make sure it’s getting more and more diverse and favorable to new growth. So that more diverse stories, point of views, and experiences end up in the war room where ideas come to life. So that these products and experiences that end up out there in the world can “help ALL people to pursue their passion in a way that is good for the planet” as our CEO likes to say.
The LGBTIQ+ community is going through tough times at the moment. We see dramatic situations in the US, Eastern Europe, Central Africa and many other places in the world.
The role of LogiPride is to hold a positive stance against LGBTIQ+ discriminations. And we got such an incredible crowd at Logitech.
By creating presence, inviting organizations and experts for talks and conferences, celebrating our diversity at work, and collaborating with our People Culture department, we raise awareness. We help improve the workplace.
Across Logitech, we really endeavor to provide a work environment in which every single employee feels they can truly be themselves and flourish in what they do.
But our mission does not end here. We are conscious of the impact we can have on people and the planet. And we want to leverage it on enabling communities around us to make a positive impact.
LogiPride members are distributed all across the globe. We’re connecting or active members within local LGBTIQ+ organizations. We support them by volunteering or contributing financially to the best of our abilities.
Our employee resource group is dedicated to this. We help influencing within and outside so we can help make the world a better place, at our scale.
I know, we Logitech, are far from being perfect, but we have the drive, the people, the passion, to evolve towards a better future for all minorities out there.
This is a never ending fight, we must stay alert and fight for what’s right. I want to believe that in forty years’ time, but I’m so proud and lucky to be a part of this community of people, here, at Logitech.
For all the ones out there not being able to be OUT, LOUD, and PROUD out there, we’re thinking of you. We’re doing this for you:
LogiPride wishes you all a freaking happy pride.
–Giulio Barresi, LogiPride Lead
