A Celebration of Strength: Connecting through Shared Identities, Experiences, and Histories

Last month, we celebrated Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month.

In 1979, Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was celebrated during the first 10 days of May. In 1992, Congress passed legislation to designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month; renamed Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in 2009. The designation of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month is intentionally inclusive of Desi, an identifier for people of South Asian descent.

Workmates belonging to Employee Belonging Councils (EBCs) representing our Asian and Pacific Islander communities at Workday — East Asian, KAMPI (Filipino and Pacific Islander), and Dosti (South Asian) EBCs — organize APIDA Heritage Month events. We reached out to them on what APIDA Heritage Month signifies and the meaning behind the 2023 APIDA Heritage Month theme at Workday “APIDA Strength: Purposeful Leadership, Opportunity, and Community.” We are thrilled to be able to share their perspectives with you.

Celebrating shared identities, experiences, and cultures

APIDA Month is a celebration of our shared identities, experiences, cultures, histories, and more. So what does it mean to celebrate our APIDA heritage?

Solutions Consultant, Brian, says that celebrating APIDA Heritage Month means celebrating his opportunity to be a living legacy of those who came before him and paved the way for those of APIDA heritage.

“Celebrating my Vietnamese heritage to me means that I get to be a living legacy of all of the people who worked so hard to allow me to live the life I do today,” Brian says. “This month allows me to celebrate all of my APIDA brothers, sisters, aunties, and uncles, and it also allows me to learn histories and cultures of the Asian diaspora in the U.S. that I might not have been aware of beforehand. To me, celebrating my APIDA heritage is a chance to recognize those shared experiences I have with other Workmates, as well as championing my own story.”

Technical Writer, Khim, grew up in Malaysia with parents who were born and raised in China. While she reads and writes Chinese, she finds herself more attuned to her Malaysian experience.

“When I celebrate my APIDA heritage, I celebrate the Chinese, Malaysian/Indian, and American parts of me. I celebrate the Lunar New Year by hanging a long red cloth over my door, eating only auspicious-sounding food, and making this uniquely Malaysian-Chinese salad called Lou Sang,” Khim says.

Senior Manager of M&A Finance Integration, Jona, says APIDA Heritage Month is a celebration of his roots while also having the opportunity to learn about others in the APIDA community.

A common thread weaving through these conversations is the idea of shared experiences.

The terms Asian American and Pacific Islanders represent a diverse group of ethnicities, each with their own unique culture and history in the U.S. APIDA Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate the strength of our diversity and come together to champion progress. As one of our product managers Daniel explained,

“APIDA represents a time for us to come together and unify around a shared purpose and create a stronger, more diverse community.”

Project Director, Howard, says that being able to share similar experiences builds a sense of community, and he feels like he’s connecting to a ‘long lost relative.’

“ I’ve discovered that other Workmates speak the same family dialect of Chinese that I speak and that the food we ate growing up was the same. It makes me feel that I’ve connected with a long lost relative and that I’m working with family instead of being alone on an island.”

Fostering a sense of community at Workday manifests in many different ways, but one to note is the continuous efforts of our Workmates and our employee belonging councils.

Creating a sense of community with our Workmates

Workday’s EBCs build knowledge, create safe spaces, enable business initiatives, and engage in community outreach. The goal is to foster innovation and empower the business through the diverse perspectives and experiences each EBC brings. We have 11 EBCs (and counting!) with chapters across the globe.

Tess, senior program manager, calls EBCs a “home away from home.”

“It’s a place where Workmates can relate to the same culture, traditions, food, etc. When a new Workmate starts a job, it’s always a joy to know that there is a Filipino community or a LatinX, Pride, or other EBC around, where they can become a member of the family, where they can feel a sense of belonging,” Tess says.

That sense of belonging and the feelings it creates in individuals and communities cannot be underestimated.

EBCs are place of refuge, as Khim commented, for “when I feel misunderstood or isolated and need to be in community with folks who get me.” Khim regards EBCs as a place where she feels understood without needing to explain herself.

Howard says his involvement in EBCs has given him a sense of belonging.

“One of the many ways that the EBCs have helped me feel a sense of belonging is having the opportunity to share an experience or a happy memory about enjoying a certain type of food has brought such positive feelings of belonging. This sense of community has been invaluable to me and I’m so grateful for the EBCs for creating an environment where I can be my true self.”

While APIDA Heritage Month is a US-based designation, global Workmates across our Asian communities EBCs also participated in our celebrations and events. Our keynote event “Reclaiming Mental Health for Asian Americans” featured Dr. Jenny Tzu-Mei Wang, Phd.m a Taiwanese American clinical psychologist and national speaker on Asian American mental health and racial trauma in Asian American, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and immigrant communities. Her work focuses on the intersection of Asian American identity, mental health, and social justice. She is the founder of the @asiansformentalhealth Instagram community, in which she discusses the unique experiences of Asian diaspora and immigrant communities.

There are many things we inherit, from family and our communities, whether traditions, objects, culture, and food (of course!). This we call our heritage, and many of our Workmates find ways to stay connected to it and strengthen it in all the ways possible.

Tess connects through food- her love language. For Tess, this means cooking and sharing traditional Filipino food, and even teaching the younger generations about her traditions and culture and sharing her experiences growing up in the Philippines. Unsurprisingly, this is a unique connector for many.

Camille, product equity and inclusion program manager, is quite the foodie herself!

“Food is the center of many Filipino households and it gives people the opportunity to connect with one another. The hospitality and warmth of Filipinos is something I’m proud of. No matter who you are, and as long as there’s food (of course), everyone is welcome to have a seat at the table and make sure you don’t leave without eating and even take home some leftovers (in Tagalog we call it “baon”). I stay connected with my heritage by way of cooking for my family and friends. It’s a special time when I have the opportunity to cook for them.”

For Aggie, senior associate solution consultant, social media has been a great tool that helps her feel connected to other thought leaders of similar heritage. It keeps her informed about advocacy initiatives in her community.

2023 Theme at Workday: “APIDA Strength: Purposeful Leadership, Opportunity, and Community”

This year’s theme of “APIDA Strength: Purposeful Leadership, Opportunity, and Community” invites our Workday communities to be purposeful in:

• Demonstrating and championing multidimensional qualities of leadership
• Advocating and creating opportunities that intentionally uplift and grow each other’s potential
• Building a community where acceptance and acknowledgement of different backgrounds are valued and supported

Senior QA Engineer, Sangeetha, emphasizes that purposeful leadership can only manifest when a community bands together to foster an environment where leaders can grow.

For Aggie, demonstrating and championing multidimensional qualities of leadership is about bringing authenticity to every interaction and being present for others, especially when things are new or uncertain. It is also about respecting different viewpoints.

Another theme that surfaced, in talking with Khim and Daniel, was service and community.

“A good leader is understanding and empathetic and will dare to speak up for you. They will champion you and your cause and celebrate your success,” says Khim.

Dan echoes a similar sentiment.

“A good leader serves the people who report to them and creates a vision that is both aspirational and purposeful so others are motivated to achieve it together.”

As you can see, Workmates stay connected to our heritage in different ways. Find your community at Workday today.

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