How Loop supports our LGBTQIA+ employees
Kelli Trapnell
·June 16, 2023
Loop proudly supports all of our employees, and that includes our employees who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of Pride Month, we talked to three of our queer Loopers about what Pride means to them, why they enjoy working here, and what they hope the future brings.
Learn more about Loop’s values here.
At Loop, one of our core values is Be a Human First. It’s about understanding that each and every one of our employees comes to Loop from different walks of life, and juggle different responsibilities and circumstances. We believe that only when we’re all working together at our best can we provide our merchants with the tools they need to grow and succeed in today’s ecommerce landscape.
Ash Cunha
Pride is an opportunity for me to celebrate who I am as a queer person. Not only is it a time of year where I can freely be who I am, love my wife and daughter freely without judgement, and be around others from the LGBTQIA+ community, but it is also a time to remember how far we’ve come as a community, and a reminder of all the work that still needs to happen.
What I love about working at Loop as a queer person is that this is the first place I have felt comfortable being my true, authentic self. I show up as I am, and I am embraced for who I am. While I don’t experience this at Loop, there are real challenges I have faced based on how I present myself to the world. Clothing, appearance, the way I carry myself, have all at some point in my life resulted in discriminatory comments from others. I’ve worried that these things could cause me to lose my job, as there aren’t always protections for queer people in the working world.
In the future, my hope would be that queer people won’t have to worry about crossing state lines and having their rights challenged based on physical location. My hope is that queer people won’t need to adopt their own children to protect their parental rights across the globe. My hope is that queer people could live openly, anywhere in the world, without fear of retaliation or harm. I hope in the future, we’re all viewed as humans first, and we can accept, love, and celebrate everyone as they are.
Lily Berry
Pride is both an act of resistance and a celebration of radical joy. It defies historical societal norms that seek to silence and erase queer voices, celebrating the authentic selves of marginalized individuals. It’s a powerful declaration that we exist, demanding equity and the freedom to be our unapologetic, vibrant selves.
As a queer individual working at Loop, I have immense appreciation for the respectful and supportive environment fostered here. Equally uplifting is the sense of camaraderie and solidarity among my peers, who consistently offer their support and embrace diversity in the workplace. This inclusive atmosphere allows me to thrive, contributing my unique perspectives and talents without fear or hesitation.
In my journey as a queer person in the workplace, I remain conscious of the occasional lack of understanding or acceptance I encounter from certain individuals. Additionally, the weight of the growing regressive political climate on the right contributes to mental strain, but I am grateful that at Loop I feel supported and valued when faced with these challenges.
I hope for a future where the queer community is understood, respected, and loved both in the workplace and in society. In this vision, workplaces become inclusive spaces that reject discrimination and embrace diverse expressions of identity. I envision a future that fiercely upholds bodily autonomy, demands equity, and dismantles oppressive systems—empowering individuals to live authentically and freely.
Nikki Martinez
Pride means being unconditionally supported by a community of individuals who recognize and accept each person’s individuality and humanity. Pride means accepting one’s authentic self and living our truth.
Working for Loop, being able to confidently be comfortable with my identity without fear of negative response or retaliation is massive for me. I lived in San Francisco for over a decade and was very used to open-minded companies. I’ve been lucky to only have worked for queer-friendly businesses in my life. However, I am not ignorant of the fact that it is not everyone’s experience. I, unfortunately, have seen discrimination towards my queer siblings in their places of work, and it hurts my heart.
With Covid closing down the world, prospects and life changes happened rapidly. I was worried I would have a hard time in the remote world finding a place where I could be genuine and authentic without fear. Loop was safe from day one—and it only got better as our queer community grew and eventually became an awesome employee resource group (ERG).
As Loop continues to grow, I hope that we maintain open-minded, inclusive policies in our workplace. Outside the workplace, my biggest hope is that society wakes up and stops the backward slide against LGBTQIA+ rights. I want to see drag shows and trans rights gain the respect they deserve. I hope our society and government canonize the human rights we all deserve.
Interested in working with us at Loop? Check out our careers page here.
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