When Diversity and Inclusion Unlock Your True Potential

My First Contact with Technology

From a very young age, I knew I didn’t feel the same as the other boys. I enjoyed playing with dolls, combing their hair, and making clothes for them. My attitude was also different; I felt more comfortable playing with girls, resonating with their more feminine energy. However, this led to bullying because I was different.

As a result, I became generally introverted. While I had friends and interacted with my peers, there was always someone bullying me at school or in the neighborhood. I spent a lot of time playing alone, imagining a thousand different worlds, but always happy in my own universe.

I had to change my behavior to appear more like the boys. I stopped playing with dolls and adopted a more masculine demeanor to avoid discrimination. It worked to some extent; I made more friends but had to hide my true self behind a new facade. Occasionally, past bullies still targeted me. Despite these changes, I remained somewhat introverted.

It wasn’t until adolescence that I had my first encounter with a computer. It replaced my childhood imaginary worlds and became my new way of playing as my true self. However, I remained locked in my world, afraid to face the outside reality and its hurtful comments.

The positive aspect of this technological world was that I could share it with others interested in the same things. This helped me make more friends, become less introverted, and show more of my true self.

Nevertheless, I was still hiding a part of myself, preventing me from being completely authentic.

A Career in Technology is Not Just About Computers

My passion for technology led me to pursue a related field. I researched various options and sought not just a career, but a challenge. That’s when I found it: Systems Engineering. From the outset, I discovered that a love for computers didn’t necessarily equate to a love for programming.

Fortunately, I made the right choice: I fell in love with programming. It felt like creating art within my own world. Learning new concepts and strategies was endlessly fascinating.

However, in a male-dominated environment, I feared revealing my sexuality and facing the bullying I had experienced before. Once again, I isolated myself and struggled to form genuine connections with my university peers because I wasn’t being my authentic self.

Everything changed when I made friends with some women in that environment. Initially, I hesitated to disclose my sexuality, fearing rejection. But I mustered the courage to share my truth because I needed to. To my surprise, they already sensed it and assured me that nothing would change in our friendship.

This revelation not only transformed me but also strengthened our friendship and teamwork. I felt more creative, even though our work dynamic remained unchanged. Being accepted for who I am allowed me to be more open and at ease.

Entering the Job Market

When I started my professional career, I decided to separate my personal life from my professional one. I knew that being myself could enhance my potential, but I chose not to talk about my personal life at work. This separation prevented me from fully connecting with my colleagues. As a developer, this wasn’t a big problem since I focused on my tasks and had limited interaction with others.

However, hiding my true self led me to lie or avoid certain topics in casual conversations, or at after-office gatherings. Although I could manage it, I didn’t like hiding. But the fear of not being accepted as part of the team was greater.

Over time, I went from being a developer to a technical leader and eventually had the opportunity to be a manager. But every time I tried to take on that role, I felt I was failing and asked to return to my previous position. This made me doubt my managerial abilities, and really believe that I didn’t have what is needed to fulfill that role.

One of the most important aspects of that role is the people, and how to connect with them to help them grow professionally. And although I didn’t see it that way at the time, hiding behind a mask was an obstacle to developing my management skills. And this wasn’t the only problem: not being able to connect 100% with the people I worked with led me to seek new job opportunities, perhaps with the hope that this would change.

In one of my jobs, I found an environment where I could truly be myself. During my two and a half years there, I formed stronger and more genuine connections than I had in any previous roles. This experience demonstrated that being authentic allows me to be a better professional.

Despite this, I eventually left the job to seek new challenges, as I didn’t feel completely fulfilled professionally. My subsequent roles offered incredible professional growth, but I found myself concealing my true self once again.

The inclusive environment of that one job left a lasting impact on me. I realized I needed both the feeling of inclusion and the opportunity for professional challenges to thrive.

The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion as Part of a Company’s Culture

When I was contacted for an interview at IPSY, I researched the company and its mission caught my attention: “We inspire everyone to express their unique beauty.” From that moment, I already felt included, part of the company. What better way to express my unique beauty than by being myself?

From the first interview, I felt at ease, although I didn’t talk much about my personal life. However, from the first day of work at IPSY, I found out that the company valued diversity and inclusion. And not only did they value it, but it was part of their culture. This made me feel even more part of the company and allowed me to share my daily life, my partner, and my family with my colleagues without lying.

My potential grew exponentially. I became more communicative, sociable, and participative. My voice became known, and I felt that it mattered. I started as a developer and, over time, took on the role of technical leader, where I learned leadership skills and established more honest connections with my colleagues.

Eventually, I was given the opportunity to become a manager. And with that, my fears resurfaced. Although it was for the team I was already part of, which made it much easier, and within the company I could be myself, my first response to the question “Would you like to be a manager?” was: “I’ve tried to be one in the past and failed, I don’t know if I’m ready for it, I don’t even know if I have what it takes to be one”. I felt inadequate for the role, convinced that I wasn’t enough. I even told my manager several times, “I wouldn’t want to be a manager; the number of meetings… No, I really can’t.” But deep down, I knew it went beyond that. I was held back by my past experiences.

But the support of my manager, his words of encouragement, his constructive feedback, and making me see that not only he but other people in the company saw that I could successfully take on that role gave me the initial push to accept the offer.

I’ve been a manager of one of the company’s teams for just a few months now. But I quickly realized that the fact that people know me as I am made the bonds I could build stronger, healthier, more genuine. Taking off the mask of who I wasn’t, helped me focus on helping others find and unlock their true potential.

And since I’ve been in this role, with positive feedback and feeling more confident in this function, I realized that in the past, I didn’t fail because I didn’t have what it took to be a manager, but because not being myself led me to fail.

It’s crucial for companies to promote diversity and inclusion as part of their culture. Supporting and empowering people to be themselves in a safe environment is fundamental.

Therefore, if you’re in a place where you can’t be yourself and you’re looking for where you can, it’s important that wherever you go promotes diversity and inclusion so that you can unlock your true potential.

A Final Note

Every time I’m asked what pride means, it’s hard for me to find the words to explain it because it is something that I feel, that I am, that I was born with.

But a while ago, I watched an interview with Javier Ambrossi, a Spanish director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and presenter. When he was asked about what pride means, he mentioned the following sentence:

“Pride is the party for those of us who weren’t invited to the party.”

That phrase resonated deeply with me, inspiring me to bring its essence into my professional environment. From my perspective:

“In a workplace, diversity and inclusion creates a place for those of us who often feel out of place.”