Throughout Pride Month, SoftwareOne colleagues around the world came together to celebrate, learn, and reflect on what it means to truly belong. Across global and local initiatives, teams created space for open conversations, shared personal experiences, and championed greater visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community.
This year's theme, Being Yourself. Feeling You Belong, came to life through a combination of global programmeming and locally driven activities, reaffirming our commitment to building a culture where everyone feels respected, valued, and free to be themselves at work.
"Seeing colleagues across SoftwareOne share their experiences and inspire one another is at the heart of the culture we are building together," said Chief HR Officer Nina Janorschke. "At SoftwareOne, we believe our people perform their best when they can be themselves, and that means building a culture where everyone feels respected, valued, and included, not just during Pride Month, but every single day."
As part of Pride Month, we welcomed author, entrepreneur, and LGBTQIA+ advocate Raga D'Silva to our global DEIB Book Club, our flagship quarterly programme that brings colleagues together for conversations with authors connected to our pillars focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Raga generously shared her personal journey and the story behind Untold Lies, her unique collection of story-poetry. She also spoke about her advocacy for marriage equality in India and her podcast, Older Queer Voices, which shines a spotlight on trailblazers in the LGBTQIA+ community. The discussion touched on kindness, visibility, values, role models, and allyship, reinforcing the role each of us plays in cultivating an inclusive workplace.
We asked colleagues across our global offices to share what belonging at work means to them. Their responses were brought together in the Belonging at SoftwareOne video, surfacing a wide range of voices and perspectives from around the world. While every story was different, one message rang through clearly: when people feel they belong, they are more confident and are better able to contribute, grow, and succeed.
In addition to our global events, colleagues across regions organised their own local celebrations and conversations.
Our Norway office hosted a series of events, beginning with an engaging panel discussion with Oslo Pride and Vålerenga Hockey Elite, where the panelists shared insights about the importance of visibility, collaboration, and continuous efforts toward inclusion – both in society and in the workplace. This was followed by a presentation from Ringnes Brewery about their collaboration with “The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative”. They discussed the origins of Pride –what started as a protest in New York has evolved into a global celebration of rights, diversity, and inclusion.
In North America, our NORAM team hosted a Pride panel where colleagues and allies reflected on personal stories of identity, allyship, and what belonging looks like in practise.
In Latin America, our LATAM DEIB network will be hosting a panel and Q&A on what it's like to be LGBTQIA+ in the workplace, exploring psychological safety and the importance of bringing your authentic self to work.
In India, colleagues were invited to an event entitled “Joy, Resistance and Belonging: What Pride really means at work”, and in Romania, a group from SoftwareOne joined the 35,000 strong march in Bucharest. These are some of the examples of our teams coming together in their offices and communities to recognise and support the LGBTQIA+ community and promote allyship and inclusion.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Pride Month, from organising events and joining discussions to sharing personal stories and supporting colleagues.
Pride is not just a moment in time. It reflects the culture we are building every day: one where everyone feels free to be themselves, feels they belong, and can make a meaningful impact. That is something worth celebrating, not just in June, but all year long.
Explore how SoftwareOne is building a culture where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to be themselves.
Explore how SoftwareOne is building a culture where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to be themselves.
