Celebrating Pride Month In Style: How Gable Team Supports the LGBTQIA+ community

Pride Month 2023 is officially underway, and at Gable, it’s a cause to celebrate! We pride ourselves (pun intended!) on being a diverse, inclusive, supportive team, striving to not just celebrate, but highlight, empower, and amplify the voices of our LGBTQIA+ teammates all year round.

Here’s how our team celebrates Pride this June and every other month – and how we’ll support the community with actions this year. Read on 👇

Liza Mash Levin, CEO & Co-Founder

What does Pride mean to you?

For me, Pride has always been an opportunity to support friends, family, and teammates from the LGBTQIA+ community, be an ally, and show my commitment to a world where everyone is celebrated, heard, and included.

How are you demonstrating your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at Gable?

As CEO, it’s my responsibility to ensure our culture is always aligned with our values – and diversity and inclusivity are our core values. As the leader of the company, I’m happy to see our team members feeling included and supported at work - and we’re a diverse, global team.

We have policies in place to ensure everyone can bring their whole self to work and feel comfortable, and we’re celebrating our diversity with events and employee-centered campaigns – and Pride Month is an important part of that.

How does Gable advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community the other 11 months of the year?

Our LGBTQIA+ teammates are there to help us ensure all our messaging, from recruitment to day-to-day operations is inclusive, welcoming, and supportive. We strive to communicate our company is a supportive place to work, a fun environment, and a team that makes everyone feel welcome – and that commitment will stay with us as we grow.

Omri Haviv, CTO & Co-Founder

What does Pride mean to you?

To me Pride month is a reminder to acknowledge and celebrate the freedom of every person to define themselves the way they feel most comfortable, and for society to provide the space and measures to allow it.

It is also a reminder that a lot of work is yet to be done to allow such freedoms in all societies and aspects of life.

What do you think people and other organizations can do this pride month to raise awareness?

I believe education, information sharing, and exposure are key to raising awareness and continuing positive progress.

What can managers do to create inclusive workplaces for LGBTQIA+ people?

On a practical level, making sure the proper infrastructure is in place to make the workplace inclusive. For example, the ability to share and use proper pronouns, non-tolerance for violent/non-inclusive discourse at work, having processes to allow HR requests/complaints possible, gender-neutral restrooms, and more.

On a higher level, specifically during times like Pride month, it’s also about creating safe spaces for knowledge sharing, facilitating lectures, and other ways of listening to the community members and elevating their voices.

Taylor Basham, Partner Operations & Success Manager

Why is Pride important to you?

Pride is important to me because it's the one month a year I feel unapologetically supported and able to be my authentic self. Our community still has a lack of safe spaces where we can truly be ourselves without having to think about being attacked, discriminated against, or marginalized.

I feel a sense of recognition and celebration for the hardships our communities have faced and the support we should provide to one another year-round. Pride also reminds me that we still have work to do both myself as a community member and those who may not identify as LGBTQIA+. We have so much work to continue fighting for our rights around the globe. Fighting for visibility. Fighting for our voices to be heard. Fighting for the right to love who we want. Fighting for all marginalized groups. I am proud of who I am.

How has being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community affected your professional life?

In my career, I've always strived to show up every day being my true and authentic self. Sometimes we don't have the opportunity to wait until we find a work environment like this. Growing up in a small town I masked myself out of fear as I knew I was living in a conservative environment. Post-college, I pushed myself to be my true self at work to understand who were my supporters. I leaned on them to learn and understand how to navigate the working world where discrimination is still heavily present.

Today, a few jobs after college, I find myself loving the colleagues who support me but also educating those around me to continuously think about being more inclusive, accepting, and welcoming to not just myself but all individuals in the workplace.

How do you feel supported at work?

From day one at Gable, I've always felt supported to be my unique and individual self. I couldn't ask for a better team. All of our employees are welcoming and truly eager to connect with one another. I freely talk about my partner and my journey.

While I know no two people walk the same path, I know we all have a lot of learning to do from one another. This is how I remind myself that it is so very important to provide safe and inclusive environments in business. This leads to a truly collaborative and supportive environment where we all can learn from one another. I feel this at Gable.

Itamar Orgad, Chief Product Officer

Why is Pride important to you?

Pride holds both personal and professional significance for me.

On a personal level, it's about accepting others for who they are and standing up against discrimination, core values which I aspire to live by and raise my children on.

On a professional level, pride means creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe, respected, and empowered to be their true and best selves and bringing forward a diverse set of perspectives, ideas, and colleagues that would result in the organization being more productive and successful.

How has being an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community affected your professional life?

Being an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as other minority groups in the workplace, had an immense impact on my professional career and success as a leader.

It has helped me attract, engage, and retain the best talent by fostering an inclusive work culture which in turn helped attract not only members of the LGBTQIA+ community but also others who share the same core value of respect, diversity, and equality.

I learned to appreciate that embracing LGBTQIA+ rights is not only the right moral thing to do, but also the right business strategy that contributes to individual, team, and company performance.

What can leaders do to create inclusive workplaces for LGBTQIA+ employees?

I believe the first and most important step for anyone in the workplace is to build empathy through education regarding the core issues and challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community in and outside the workplace, so they can better support their needs and create the right work environment for them to thrive.

After gaining a deeper understanding and empathy, the next step is to walk the walk and create a working environment that truly promotes diversity and inclusion. Examples could be addressing biases in recruiting, demonstrating zero tolerance towards discrimination, and sponsoring LGBTQIA+ groups.

Amit Maymon, HR & Operations Manager

What are you and Gable doing to create an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive environment at Gable?

Our entire team is committed to fostering an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive environment for all employees, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Here are some of the steps we are taking:

• Policies and Guidelines: Gable has implemented policies and guidelines that promote diversity and inclusion, including HR policies like the Personal Behavior and Respect for Individuals guideline. These ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with respect.
• Benefits and Support: Gable provides our US employees with comprehensive insurance (401K plan, medical, dental, and vision insurance) and a great benefits plan.
• A welcoming onboarding process, where employees get gifts and swag on their first day to help them feel comfortable and included from the get-go.
• Celebrating Diversity: We actively celebrate LGBTQIA+ events, such as Pride Month, to foster a sense of belonging and demonstrate our commitment to inclusivity.
• Overall Employee Experience: We have a welfare plan for each quarter that includes social time, Happy hours, birthday gifts, celebrating international holidays, etc.

How can non-LGBTQIA+ colleagues become allies?

For starters, team members should be mindful of the language they use and avoid assumptions about someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. They should use gender-neutral terms whenever possible and respect individuals' preferred pronouns.

You should treat each other with respect, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. Show empathy and listen to others’ experiences without judgment.

How can we ensure recruitment messaging is inclusive towards LGBTQIA+?

We make a special effort to ensure our job descriptions and recruitment messages to candidates do not include gendered language and avoid heteronormative assumptions. On top of that, we try and illustrate our company culture, which champions diversity and inclusion, in all our job postings, recruitment messaging, and job interviews.

Tam Ngo, Head of Growth

What does Pride mean to you?

Pride month is incredibly meaningful to me as it symbolizes the celebration of love, freedom, and embracing one's true self. It's a special time to honor the diverse ways individuals define their identities, breaking free from societal norms and embracing the beauty of human connections. Pride also allows me to show unwavering support for my loved ones, friends, and family in the LGBTQIA+ community, standing in solidarity with their journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.

What do you think people and other organizations can do this pride month to raise awareness?

it is essential for organizations to embrace their crucial role in cultivating an inclusive and supportive environment. By prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, they create a space where every individual can thrive and unleash their full potential while feeling empowered to express their authentic selves authentically even in professional settings.

What can managers do to create inclusive workplaces for LGBTQIA+ people?

Managers play a crucial role in creating inclusive workplaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals. They can educate themselves and their teams, advocate for inclusive policies, and engage externally with LGBTQIA+ events and organizations. This fosters knowledge, protection, and connections within the workplace.

Lydia Lewis, Sr. Director of Customer Success

Why is Pride important to you?

Everyone deserves respect and equal rights, no matter who or where they are. I believe in freedom and in empowering people to be their true, authentic selves - and that’s what Pride means to me.

How has being an ally affected your professional life?

Supporting the LGBTQIA+ community has allowed me to learn from people from all walks of life and these differences in perspectives have made my life richer, both at work and outside of it.

How do you feel supported at work?

Gable strives for diversity and inclusion not just in words but in action. Our team is so welcoming and inclusive, it’s really awesome to see - and our commitment to a culture of diversity is unwavering.

How we’re supporting Pride Month in 2023

This June, we’ll be celebrating Pride Month by supporting the LGBTQIA+ community!

All Gable bookings that take place any day in June will contribute towards Gable’s donation to The Trevor Project - we’ll be donating 1% of our profit to The Trevor Project and the amazing work they’re doing to empower the community, offer resources and support, and help battle societal pressure and stigma!