Pride Moves Us: the network promoting LGBTI+ created by employees.
This June, to coincide with Pride Month, CUPRA is celebrating the first anniversary of Pride Moves Us: the network created by employees to promote LGBTI+ inclusion in the workplace. The automotive brand is raising awareness and promoting diversity and inclusion into the company’s day-to-day operations.
The origins of Pride Moves Us came about this time last year in the midst of the global pandemic, when Miguel Díez of the CUPRA Product Strategy department and colleague Miguel Ángel Sanz founded the group with the aim for it to become a regular meeting point for LGBTI+ employees and advocates.
“As we have a department dedicated solely to Diversity, we’ve had great support from the company from the very beginning, it helped us set up our network and move forward together on the projects. Pride Moves Us was created to give the LGBTI+ community visibility within the company and to ensure an inclusive and respectful environment so that all LGBTI+ people can be themselves while carrying out their work” said Díez.
To mark the occasion, we developed a pride-themed vinyl to decorate a CUPRA Formentor, creating a model that wears diversity, quite literally, on its skin.The phrase “Diversity takes us further” has been added to the iconic Petrol Blue Matt finish, naturally highlighting the organic design of the car, while geometric lines in the colours of the LGBT+ flag excentuate the striking design of the Formentor’s dynamic bodywork. The result is a car that inspires emotions through contemporary design, and a driving thrill that looks beyond gender identity, race and sexual orientation.
Pride Moves Us.
The network currently has 38 ambassadors who lead the group’s various initiatives in collaboration with the Diversity department. It also has a very active Instagram profile where many of its activities are focused. The group is not only open to people who identify as LGBTI+ but also to advocates eager to spread the message. The group holds regular face-to-face meetings at the CUPRA Headquarters building, where members share experiences and discuss new strategies to keep making progress in implementing new ideas and initiatives.
The power of diversity.
Pride Moves Us also promotes external networking with peer groups from other Volkswagen Group companies, as well as from outside the sector. This includes a collaboration with REDI (Red Empresarial por la diversidad e inclusión LGBTI+): Spain’s first business and expert network on diversity and LGBTI+ inclusion.
A network for awareness.
CUPRA Strategy, Business Development and Operations employee, and Pride Moves Us ambassador, María Contelles, praised the group for extending the company’s anti-harassment protocols to encourage networking, share experiences and learn about best practices applicable to the workplace.
The reassurance of being yourself.
Miguel Díez explained that the support of a company is paramount to the success of such an initiative by adding, “When you know that the company firmly supports something that affects you in such a personal way, it makes you feel comfortable, confident and proud of where you work… At the end of the day, being able to behave and carry yourself as the person you really are in your work environment, where we spend a large part of our time, is extremely important”
A necessary boost.
Maria Contelles went on to acknowledge that a company’s greatest resource is its human capital, with diversity and inclusiveness making a company much more competitive, talented and open to society. Diversity management translates into happier employees and better results for the company.
