Pride & Progress at Synchrony

I came out as queer and trans almost exactly three years ago, during Pride Month in 2021. Since then, my life has been an absolute whirlwind and has included starting hormone therapy, moving all the way across the country from Connecticut to Oregon, reconfiguring my family and friend relationships, making new friends, completely rebuilding my wardrobe, becoming part of whole new communities, and figuring out what my career looks like as a queer professional.

From the very beginning, one constant that I have been thankful for everyday is the people I work with at Synchrony and our partners. I don't know how many people have to come out by sending an email to the General Counsel and the Chief Litigation Officer of a Fortune 200 financial institution, but that's what I did. (Hi Jonathan Mothner and Eric Berkowitz !) Pressing the send button on that email was one of the most nerve-wracking things I've had to do in my career, and frankly, my life. From that moment on, though, the company and its leadership have been incredibly supportive of me.

Our long-time prior CEO Margaret Keane made bringing our authentic selves to work at Synchrony a mantra and a core part of Synchrony culture, and Brian Doubles has continued and amplified that message. I get to live that experience every day in ways most people do not. Not only have people respected and supported me in bringing my authentic self to work, I've been welcomed as someone in our leadership that can share my experience. And I've done that, both for myself and on behalf of other queer and trans people at the company, through direct interaction with my fellow leaders, participation in our Women's Network, and most importantly and dear to my heart, as a leader in our Pride+ Network.

I joined our Pride+ Network back in June 2021, right after coming out, and in 2022 I volunteered to lead the new Gender & Identity Pillar within the Network. Last year, that Pillar's scope was broadened, and it became the Pride+ Culture Pillar, focused on the mantra that became so important to me: every Synchrony employee should feel comfortable bringing their authentic self to work--including LGBTQIA+ employees of any and every variety. As a queer person that can check off a bunch of those letters, the Network was critical to making me feel included at work, and it's important to me now as way to share that positive experience with others who are coming out for the first time, or are transitioning their career to Synchrony from places that were perhaps not so welcoming, or live in places that are inhospitable to queer people (of which there are far too many).

One of the many things our Culture Pillar does is plan our Pride Month programming at Synchrony! There are a ton of people that have contributed this year, but I want to give a thank you especially to Jon Clark for leading the planning; River Eberly , Jean Torre , and Jeff Valyou for organizing critical events during the month; and Christopher M. for leading all of our communications efforts during Pride Month and year-round). You and the many others supporting our efforts make this month possible.

In addition to our Synchrony Pride programming, we also have a really big and exciting initiative this year--we are Partnering for Pride by sponsoring and participating in Pride marches and celebrations across the country, including Miami, Orlando, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. And we are doing it with some of our important partners inside and outside the company--our fellow Diversity Networks as well as our retail partner clients. Our Synchrony culture of authentic self is really special, and we want to bring that out of the company and to our partners and communities. More to come on this!

I'm incredibly proud of the work the Network has done, and Pride Month is an important celebration of that progress as well as a reflection on the challenges we continue to face and the work we must still do. Together, the Pride+ Network has ensured that Synchrony has earned a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index for 8 consecutive years, recognizing it as one of the best places to work for LGBTQIA+ employees. (A very special thank you to Eric Ossello for carrying this effort on his capable shoulders from the beginning.) The Network also serves as a strategic advisor, ensuring the LGBTQ+ community's unique needs are met through support and benefits like wellbeing resources, paid family leave, adoption assistance and gender affirming care. And along with our fellow Diversity Networks we support DJ Casto , Michael Matthews (he, him, his) , and our EDIC team, which at the beginning of the month released Synchrony's 2023 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Citizenship Report. The proof is in the pudding--all of this effort has resulted in Synchrony being named a Top 5 Great Place To Work US this year, first place among large employers in the Philippines, and second place among large employers in India.

In a difficult political environment, I am proud of our Pride+ Network and Synchrony for doubling down on equity, diversity, and inclusion--encouraging and enabling all employees to bring their authentic selves to work. We will continue to do the hard work of being vulnerable, sharing and listening to each other's personal experiences, extending empathy, and ensuring that Synchrony is the kind of Company that is welcoming to people from all walks of life--including me, and my fellow queer employees. And that is why the theme for our 2024 Pride Month at Synchrony is: Pride & Progress.