INSPIRE 20 Podcast: Meet Erik Day, Senior Vice President, Small Business, Dell Technologies

Erik Day, a senior vice president who leads Dell Technologies’ small-business division in North America and Brazil shares his thoughts on how he uses his influence for much more than just being a voice for the LGBTQ+ community. He believes he should also be used for being a feminist and being an ally to his black and brown brothers and sisters.

In the latest INSPIRE 20 podcast, Erik offers great advise to business leaders who want to attract, develop, and retain LGBTQ+ individuals; leaders must realize that they’re likely not the experts in this area. “What I say is that there are wonderful people within Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that you can partner with, that can introduce you to amazing organizations that will help you recruit in these different areas,” he explains.

He is passionate about the importance of allyship: “I believe it is a bigger responsibility that I have, being an ally and being a representation of this group of people, outside just my standard role as a corporate executive. And I think that’s what ally-ship is and what it should be used for.”

In addition to co-founding the Pride ERG, Erik founded the transgender task force at Dell, which comprises team members who have transitioned and who help others along their journey and he was recently  named to the Top 100 OUTstanding LGBT+ Executives Role Model List of 2020 by INvolve, a global network and consultancy championing diversity and inclusion in business. The list showcases LGBTQ+ business leaders and allies who are breaking down barriers and creating more inclusive workplaces across the world.

In the podcast, Erik explains that the job of activists and figureheads for a community of underrepresented minorities in the LGBTQ+ community is not just to represent their own community but “to shine the light across an intersectional version of us in other communities.”

Listen to the podcast with Erik Day on Apple, Spotify, or Soundcloud.

Plus: Listen to all of the INSPIRE 20 podcasts here

This post was first first published on Home | Micro Focus Blog website by SarahAtkinson. You can view it by clicking here