Careers aren’t just about work. Fulfilling jobs should also offer employees personal and professional development, a support network, and a sense of belonging. That’s why Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), also known as affinity groups, play an important part in many organizations.
ERGs also provide many benefits, from recruitment to retention and education. These employee communities are a critical resource to inform what is and is not working.
Employee Empowered
Every ERG is different. At VMware, we celebrate our people from a wide variety of dynamic backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Collectively, we refer to our ERGs as Power of Difference communities or PODs.
Through these groups, we encourage everyone to bring their authentic selves to work. We understand that making VMware more diverse, equitable and inclusive for our employees, customers and communities is fundamental to who we are. We also believe it’s essential to our success.
Our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is both important and necessary in our evolution as a business. Our Power of Difference communities are collectively raising our consciousness of the company and helping us build a platform for equitable change.
Raghu Raghuram, CEO, VMware
Power of Difference Communities
VMware’s PODs are the employee-powered engines that fuel our DEI efforts. Seven global demographic PODs strengthen networks for women and underrepresented groups. These groups are open to anyone in the company and designed to help participants grow as leaders, engage with other communities, and drive business impact.
Here's a quick look at our POD communities and what they’re doing to effect change.
Asian@VMware
Increasing broader Asian representation and inclusion in tech, creating an environment where all Asians can thrive.
If you think within VMware, 'How do we create an inclusive and diverse environment? How do we do that with our partners and our customers, who are also very diverse?' Bringing that all together will help create this strong central foundation, which will allow us to achieve and exceed our goals.
Kathy Chou, VMware
Black@VMware
Envisioning a time and place where DEI becomes innate to all that we do.
The Black@VMware business resource group supports the transformation of VMware's people practices and processes, ensuring that diversity and inclusion is applied to each and every aspect.
I think our community drives business impact by staying engaged. We are now challenging the status quo, and it’s now okay to do that.
La Treece Butler-Morton, Black@VMware POD, VMware
Disability@VMware
Striving to create a welcoming and inclusive workplace for employees of all abilities.
The Disability@VMware POD’s goal is to foster a culture where everyone feels empowered by their unique talents and to work towards advancing VMware’s dialogue and progress on disability inclusion, accommodation strategies, and physical and technological accessibility.
One of our major mandates for 2021 is getting our situation with respect to disability accommodations and accessibility as good for employees as it currently is for our customers.”
Sheri Haber, VMware
Latinos@VMware
Strengthening VMware’s inclusive culture and enhancing its business impact by elevating the Latino community’s representation and leadership.
The Power of Difference allows us to be allies to each other, to help retain and promote diversity within VMware, and give us a place to be safe and harness our authentic self.
Kasie Joseph, VMware
Pride@VMware
Providing a safe and inclusive environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer employees and our Allies (LGBTQA) to advocate for equal rights and respect for everyone at VMware.
I know I’m privileged to work at a company where I can be my authentic self. Being an executive sponsor of the Pride@VMware POD also comes with a responsibility to make our company, our industry and hopefully the world more inclusive and equitable.
Jason Conyard, CIO, VMware
Veterans@VMware
Working with VMware leadership and the broader employee community to grow our outreach to veterans, provide leaders with resources to better leverage the unique skills that veterans can bring to teams, and create opportunities for the advancement of veterans within VMware.
At a certain point, a job's a job. Money's money. But a mission is a mission. The global thirst for good, to be better, to do the right things with technology, that means so much to me. I believe in that, which is what keeps me here.
Eric Crossley, VMware
Women@VMware
Envisioning a VMware where all women are connected, empowered, safe, heard, recognized, and that we belong. We attract the best female talent who drive innovation, challenge the norms, and thrive in our ecosystem. Women are recognized and celebrated by the VMware community, because we are all champions for equality.
VMware's known for the doing the impossible and making the 'impossible' possible. The (Women@VMware) POD truly believes they can change the world and they can make (VMware) a possible place where everyone's included.
Amee Cooper, VMware