Embracing Culture, Building Community: The Fulfillment of Serving in an Employee Belonging Council and Celebrating Filipino American History
At Workday, I have the opportunity to be a co-lead in the KAMPI Employee Belonging Council (EBC). EBCs, Workday’s name for employee resource groups (ERGs), are an integral part of the company culture. The KAMPI EBC is dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging for the Filipino and Pacific Islander community at Workday. More than 90% of Fortune 500 companies have ERGs, which I believe demonstrates the value and importance of fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace.
Being a co-lead of an EBC at Workday has been a transformative experience. It has allowed me to apply my communications and project management skillset in a meaningful and impactful way. But it’s more than a career growth opportunity. It’s an opportunity to be a part of a community that values diversity and inclusivity.
EBCs provide a space where Workmates can reflect on the values of Workday through our unique experiences. Being part of the KAMPI EBC, I have found a sense of empowerment in exploring how the values I learned growing up as a second-generation Filipino American have shaped my perspective and given me the ability to make a meaningful difference.
Celebrating Filipino American History Month
During October, our KAMPI EBC hosted events celebrating Filipino American History Month based on the theme “Reclaiming Our Roots and Representation”. We sought to show how Filipinos have brought their leadership, activism, creativity — and so much more — to shape how America lives up to the ideals of being a place of belonging.
Our events included:
- Fireside Chat: We hosted a fireside chat featuring Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. Our fireside chat revolved around the importance of bringing visibility to the historical presence of Filipinos in America and how that knowledge can empower Filipinos and allies to be more intentional in our communities today.
- Book Club: Part of our mission for KAMPI EBC is to bolster the visibility of our Filipino community, and we embraced this mission by hosting a book club discussion on “Speak Up, Anak: Assertiveness Strategies for Filipino Americans,” written by Dr. Abby Hamilton. We had a great discussion sharing thoughts on maintaining and adapting our Filipino interpersonal values to the workplace as we progress in our careers. In fact, Dr. Abby was a featured speaker at one of KAMPI EBC events earlier this year, and it was great to hear about her inspiration for writing her book and the impact she seeks to make through her work.
- Service: We also encouraged our Workmates to reflect the bayanihan spirit (pronounced as buy-uh-nee-hun), a Tagalog word that describes a deep sense of communal unity and strength, a trait that Filipinos are known for. Workmates in our KAMPI EBC participated in a Workday Giving & Doing’s event with the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. Along with fellow Workmates, our KAMPI EMBC members transformed the schoolyard of Esperanza Elementary School and Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy by painting murals, assembling playground structures, and building garden beds.
- Celebrate: We wrapped up our celebration of Filipino American History Month with a KAMPI Cantina. We provided Filipino delicacies and invited our Workday community to participate in activities that celebrate our rich heritage and history. We also had a special performance of traditional Filipino dances by students from a local high school.
Filipino-American history wasn’t part of my high school curriculum, and it wasn’t until adulthood that I began to learn about it. But as I continue to discover the impact Filipinos have made in history and our present-day communities, I’m inspired to think more expansively about my potential.
Learning about the resilience and resourcefulness of my fellow Filipinos encourages me to embrace the challenges of my career with a greater sense of purpose and determination. Just as they have created a lasting impact in their respective fields, I too have the potential to make a meaningful difference. The stories of our shared history as Filipinos remind me that I have the skills and abilities necessary to meet any challenge that comes my way. It’s a feeling that I carry as I serve in the KAMPI EBC at Workday and create a space where my fellow Workmates can feel celebrated and seen.
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