From team outings to virtual gatherings, Xperi employees celebrated Pride Month this June in diverse and vibrant ways.
Near the start of the month, employees from the Durham, NC office crossed the street to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the team’s annual Pride Night baseball game. A few weeks later, they visited another local venue – The Carolina Theatre – to attend “It’s Funny, Y’all!” a queer variety show blending comedy and drag.
“I really appreciate Xperi’s employee resource group support for Pride activities that we’re able to enjoy together,” said Molly Durham, senior engineer – customer solutions. “Attending the Durham Bulls Pride Night and the ‘It’s Funny, Y’all!’ performance was a lot of fun.”
In Tulsa, several employees donned dapper outfits for an evening at Oklahomans for Equality’s annual I Am Equality Gala & Benefit. The event raised over $600k for OKEQ’s mission of advancing equal rights for 2SLGBTQIA+1 individuals in Oklahoma.
“It was an honor to represent Xperi with three other coworkers at the annual Tulsa Equality Gala benefiting the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center,” said Stacy Wilmott, lead analyst – purchasing. “The event not only raises much-needed funds but also shows our Oklahoma queer community that they have our support and love.”
A number of virtual events ensured that employees could celebrate Pride Month regardless of their location. Members of the Pride @ Xperi employee resource group (ERG) contributed their favorite films and shows to TMDB’s Pride 2024 collection.
Then, they tested their knowledge of global Pride celebrations, digital activism and more across three weeks of digital microlearning exercises. The ERG’s digital Pride Month programming culminated in an interactive learning session hosted by HELM Life, during which participants worked in small groups to solve puzzles and uncover the history of LGBTQIA+ representation in pop culture.
Pride is, of course, year-round: the fight for inclusion and equality never stops, nor should commemoration of the monumental achievements of the LGBTQIA+ community.
But June marks a vital opportunity for Xperi employees to learn about and celebrate queerness — and to energize one other for the work that still lies ahead.
1LGBTQIA is only one of the acronyms used to describe the diverse communities of people who don’t identify as heterosexual and / or cisgender. To better represent this diversity, some people prefer other acronyms, including 2SLGBTQIA, which stands for Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Androgynous and Asexual. As Oklahoma has a large Native American population, 2S or two-spirit is more commonly used there.
