Amazon Canada unveils Pride project in Quebec
“When I talk about my job at Amazon, I'm proud to tell people it's a safe place where I feel respected and valued,” said Yahir Castillo, human resources business partner, YUL2, Montreal.
Amazon Canada is telling the stories of its LGBTQ2S+ employees, like Castillo, in a colouring book called Fièr.e.s. The 50-page book includes personal narratives and portraits that are meant to be coloured. It will be given to staff members in all Amazon centres in the province to encourage open dialogue on inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
“Our teams are made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds with unique life experiences,” says Zoya Zayler, Head of diversity, equity and inclusion, Canada. “We're so proud to launch Fièr.e.s to raise awareness about the various realities of our employees. It is our goal to continue to make our workplace an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and values its positive impact.”
Visual artist Maxime Prévost created all the illustrations for the project and Amazon worked with Chris Bergeron, the Quebec author of the novels Valide and Vaillante, who endorsed the book's texts and wrote its preface.
Pride is contagious; that is its strongest quality. One person's pride awakens another's.
That is the value, the usefulness of the few portraits you are holding in your hands.
Spend some time with these touching testimonials. Embellish the illustrations,
by Maxime Prévost, which accompanied them with all the colours of the rainbow.
It's through small gestures like these that we push back the darkness
-Translated from Bergeron’s preface
Fièr.e.s will be available at the Amazon booth at Montréal Pride on Aug. 5. Several dozen Amazon staff members from the Greater Montréal Area will also participate in the Pride Parade on Aug. 7.
“There are so many programs, initiatives and activities that are implemented to ensure an inclusive work atmosphere,” said Castillo. ”Fièr.e.s is the perfect example of this, and the impact projects like this can have on the lives of employees is immense.”