Growing globally: A look at our LGBTQ+ employee resource group

So he did something about it.

After months of planning, he and a group of colleagues at Collins Aerospace in Bengaluru, India, launched a chapter of RTX PRIDE, the company’s employee resource group for LGBTQ+ people and allies. The chapter is RTX’s first in India, where same-sex marriage is not legally recognized.

“Being a part of the community myself, I was never comfortable sharing who I am in the office,” said Abhijan, chair of RTX PRIDE India and a lead end user support engineer at Collins. “We have come far, and I am not scared or hesitant to talk about myself in the organization. I can speak freely.”

The Bengaluru chapter is among several such groups that have given RTX PRIDE an expanded presence outside the continental United States in 2024. Employees have launched chapters in other locations, including in Puerto Rico, after they, like Abhijan, saw a need for change and acted upon it.

To see that growth has been “amazing,” said RTX PRIDE ERG global chair Chris Bovenzi and global co-chair Amanda Green.

“It’s a long-term goal we've had our sights set on,” said Green, a senior analyst at Collins, who uses she/he/they pronouns. “Our employees have done a lot of work to create a safety net at work. They came to us and said ‘We have a handful of brave people who want to step forward at risk to their career and potentially, their physical safety.’ It’s a huge source of pride for me that people like Biswaj are stepping forward to create safe spaces for themselves and their fellow employees.”

The global importance of allies

Building allyship has been critical at the new RTX PRIDE chapters.

“The situation here in the organization and in our country is a bit different from elsewhere,” said Abhijan. “We are taking every step trying to promote allyship so employees are aware that to be an ally you don’t have to be a member of the community – so people can comfortably be an ally to the community.”

Since launching in February 2024, RTX PRIDE in India has been busy. The group’s strategic focus includes publishing facts and dispelling myths about the LGBTQ+ community; leading educational sessions for employees and highlighting the prominent Indian Trans Individuals to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility.

“It feels amazing and makes us feel proud to see participation increasing, as this is a conversation that is considered taboo in Indian society,” Abhijan said. “The change is happening steadily towards a more inclusive culture.”

Creating a sense of belonging

In late May, a group of employees at Collins Aerospace in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, formed the company’s second RTX PRIDE chapter on the island – joining a Pratt & Whitney chapter that launched in Aguadilla several years ago.

In just a few days, about 20 employees showed interest in participating.

“We need allies, we need people from the community, we need everyone,” said Irwing Vargas Leon, the chapter’s executive sponsor and a human resources talent manager at Collins in Puerto Rico. “The ERG is open to everyone.”

The new chapter will give employees “the strength of belonging,” said Natalia Vidal, its communications lead and a senior communications analyst at Collins Puerto Rico. It will also provide a place “to talk and reach out, not only in the happiest moments, but also in moments of need.”

The group is planning educational events and messages in June to raise awareness and understanding of PRIDE month and also “the potential this ERG has – the potential we all have to succeed in our careers.”

“There are a lot of myths, fears, misconceptions about someone who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community so we need to tackle that,” said Vargas Leon. “We need to foster a culture of belonging. We all belong.”

‘Close to my heart’

In each case, the founders of the new chapters knew they risked alienation. They did it anyway.

“This is something that is really close to my heart,” said RTX PRIDE India co-chair Anagha Shivaprakash Gowda, a lead engineer at Collins India. “It is one of my personal values, and it honestly felt so great to be in this position to say, ‘Yes, I will go ahead and do this.’”

Green and Bovenzi recognize the significance of employees around the world volunteering to create and run a new chapter of RTX PRIDE ERG – often for the first time locally.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t instill fear – fear for them,” Bovenzi, an associate director of financial planning and analysis at Collins, said. “As we launch these sites, it’s creating that safety. But honestly, it’s why I work for a defense company. Where else do I have global reach to change things?”

The stories have been inspiring, Green said.

“The fact that we can influence and increase acceptance globally is incredible,” she/he/they said. “Our reality has been created through decades of people doing their part and taking risks. We honor their legacy through our actions.”

For the employees making that change, forming the new groups has simply helped them be who they are.

“I just want my orientation to be matter of fact,” said Abhijan. “This is my life.”