Celebrating Pride Month

June is Pride Month and Zoetis is happy to spotlight our Proud and Welcome (PAW) colleague resource group (CRG). Each year, PAW selects a theme for their Pride Month activities to shed light on important topics that encourage reflection on the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies. This year’s theme is Proud Families.

While the concept of 'coming out' and sharing one's identity is now widely understood across many cultures, the journey of parents and families in understanding, accepting, and supporting their loved one's identity is often overlooked.

Read more from our colleague Gabriela to learn how PAW has helped her learning and listening journey in support of her son.

How are you involved with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts at Zoetis?

A keen supporter of diversity in general, I was immediately drawn to the many CRGs at Zoetis and joined the ones I could quickly identify with or wanted to support as an ally to understand my children’s journeys better. As a result of this passion, I also helped spearhead the creation of the Canadian DE&I Committee, which represents each CRG with a local focus. My role as the lead and the liaison for PAW further propelled me to do more and join the PAW Technology sub-team, where I can use my expertise to help grow membership.

What does Pride mean to you?

For me, Pride is acknowledging people’s rights to fundamental human freedoms regardless of who they love. It is a celebration of acceptance and a reminder that work is still needed to change conversations.

What do you remember about your son’s coming out experience? What was going through your head at that point?

It happened in a very casual conversation while we were both sitting around watching TV, and I remember feeling relief that he trusted me enough to share this part of himself. My initial worry about how his life might be more difficult as a result of being himself was replaced with the knowledge that his coming out experience was not about me. That was my greatest takeaway.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known then?

There’s so much that I’ve learned through the conversations with other PAW members and PAW parents that perhaps I would have liked to know at that time, but that’s not the point for me. The point is to keep learning, listening, and growing to support my son and others.

What advice would you give to parents of children who are coming out?

Remember that it’s not about you. Your children need you to listen more than you speak and feel your support when times are good and bad. Lastly, we should be patient with them because life is hard. Let’s not add to that.