Stay Proud: How Salesforce Celebrated Pride Month 2017

Salesforce showed its true (rainbow!) colors this Pride Month as members of the LGBTQ community and allies alike joined together as one big Ohana to celebrate diversity and promote #EqualityForAll. This June was one of Salesforce’s biggest and boldest pride months to date, with record participation

Rachel Kastigar

July 21, 2017 2 min read

Salesforce showed its true (rainbow!) colors this Pride Month as members of the LGBTQ community and allies alike joined together as one big Ohana to celebrate diversity and promote #EqualityForAll.

This June was one of Salesforce’s biggest and boldest pride months to date, with record participation in events across the globe organized by Outforce, our employee resource group for allies of diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from an awesome Pride Month.

Around the World

Outforce organized 37 events globally, including nine Pride marches, which gathered a total of 1800+ marchers from our extended Ohana. Many of our executives participated, as did all of our Ohana groups and some of our mascots, including Astro, SaaSy, Codey, and Einstein!
San Francisco hosted many special guests who joined the ranks of 600 employees, friends, and family members who came out to march, including including singer Bebe Rexha, who performed on the parade route, mascots Astro and SaaSy, drag talent, and a team of professional dancers.
Outforce Chicago raised $40,000 for a local LGBTQ center, called Center on Halsted, during a Pride happy hour. They also hosted a RealTalk event to open up a dialogue about LGBTQ identity and had a great turnout at their parade.
Employees in Singapore celebrated Pink Dot, Singapore’s version of Pride. Citizens, all dressed in pink, gathered in a park to form a bird’s eye view of a pink dot, which symbolizes support for the LGBTQ community.
Dublin, in addition to marching with a fabulous float in the Dublin Pride parade, hosted notable speakers for in-office talks, including Robbie Lawlor, former Mr. Gay Ireland, and Rory O’Neill, Ireland’s foremost drag queen and gay rights activist.
Toronto hosted educational Pride- and Outforce-themed Lunch & Learns, threw an in-office party that featured a fundraiser, music, and drag queens, and marched in their parade alongside a float featuring mascots Codey and Einstein.
New York had a massive increase in marcher turnout, including plenty of support from BOLDforce, as they marched alongside a branded truck with a sound system.

Press Hits

Chief Equality Officer Tony Prophet spoke out about equality and hosted a panel to discuss the role of business in driving equality.
Equality Programs Manager and Outforce pioneer Gino Ramos was recognized as one of the San Francisco Business Times’ OUTstanding voices of 2017.
Success Principal Agent Charles Burkard shared his experience of transitioning in the tech industry.
Associate Art Director Elle Cardenas shared why Pride is for everyone (yes, everyone!).