Pride Month: Celebrating SymPride in Dublin, Ireland

By Rachel Armstrong, Symantec’s Product Specialist, Norton eBusiness
Jul 10, 2015 2:30 PM ET
Rachel and her wife, Shelly in Dublin, Ireland

Symantec CR in Action

While enjoying the Dublin Pride Parade last year, cheering and waving my flag in the sunshine (yes, sunshine in Ireland!) I saw contingents from Facebook, Android, Google and eBay pass by, full of joyful faces. I remember thinking, “Why isn’t Symantec in there?”

A few months later, I was working on some culture activities for Realt (our culture program in eBusiness) and learned there was a group called SymPride, which celebrates LGBT people and our allies in Symantec. I immediately got in contact with Ruha Devanesan, Manager of Global Diversity & Inclusion, and checked to see if we had a group in Dublin. There was not a chapter established in Dublin yet, so I took it as an opportunity to create one myself! Interest was immediate and now we have a small core group of around six, with others helping out and participating via email.

One of our biggest challenges since becoming an active chapter is that most heterosexual people think that SymPride is for LGBT people, similar to how men think that the Symantec Women’s Action Netowrk (SWAN) is only for women. Not true! Everyone is welcome; SymPride is about support, networking and engagement, no matter your sexuality.

Continue reading on Symantec CR in Action blog.