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Justine's Inclusion Advocacy for Gender Identity

Justine A. | Software Principal Engineer |
Washington, United States

Originally Published: June 17th, 2024

I am a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) with 49 years of life experience. I'm also a white, lesbian, asexual/aromantic, neurodiverse, parent of two wonderful teenage humans. I grew up on a cattle ranch in Eastern Washington. I love to cook, read philosophy and dream of building French cleat systems for garages. I'm a transgender rights advocate, co-lead of Dell’s Pride Employee Resource Group’s (ERG) Gender Expansive Council for North America and co-lead of Dell Pride ERG West Coast region. 

 

I hold a bachelor's degree in computer science from Western Washington University. I've worked in the software industry for 25 years. I'm currently a Software Principal Engineer for our PowerScale product (Enterprise Scale-out NAS).  

  

The Meaning of Pride Month

Pride is a protest. It's a beautiful act of resistance and show of resiliency by our community to set the expectation and intention that we are not going anywhere. We all deserve to be treated fairly and equally, as we are all human beings. Pride Month is an invitation for our allies to advocate with and for our community as an act of normalization through education. It gives us all a chance to see those who can move beyond performative support for the community. When Pride Month is over, who's still there advocating for us? 

Justine poses with a group of people.

Justine’s Pride ERG Impact 

My involvement with the Pride ERG became significant for me when I co-led the Transgender Taskforce (later renamed to Gender Expansive Council). I've helped many trans folks at Dell with accessing resources and knowledge to further their own quests for authenticity. Many consider me to be a 'trans elder' to them, as I came out at work in 2016 and have experience with navigating the healthcare system for medical transition needs. 

 

The response to my revisions to the Gender Identity and Transition Toolkit document solidified my involvement with the Pride ERG and made a tangible and positive difference in the workplace. I downloaded and printed the document out (at home!) and highlighted, added, removed, and modified sections to expand the reach of the document to those who identify as nonbinary. My spouse is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. I knew there had to be folks at Dell who identify the same way. I used a form of this same document to come out at work, and I wanted those folks to gain as much from this document as I had. I sent my revisions to the Pride leaders, and they took them seriously. Others contributed to expanding the content of the document (Morgan Haldane and Jey Sluys, I see you!) with the inclusion of genderfluidity. It continues to be a constant evolution of what is needed to support folks in their quest for gender authenticity at work.  

 

I thank Sam Slate for considering me as a foundational co-lead for the Gender Expansive Council, and Erik Day for the opportunity to stand on-stage at the 2023 Out & Equal Workplace Summit. It was a highlight of my professional career and as a transgender advocate. It has certainly influenced how I best represent my community here at work. 

Justine's headshot.

Pride is a protest. It's a beautiful act of resistance and show of resiliency by our community to set the expectation and intention that we are not going anywhere. We all deserve to be treated fairly and equally, as we are all human beings.

Justine A.

Justine poses with another person.

Education is Key 

The best way to get involved is to learn about the community. At Dell, the best way to learn is to become a member of the Pride ERG. Membership is open to every single person in this company. Learn about the intersectionality between LGBTQ+ folks and the neurodiverse community through the True Ability ERG or the intersection with women in the workplace with the Women in Action ERG. The list goes on and on. We are all an interconnected web of experiences; no person is an island. You have more in common with us than you think. It's up to you to reach out.  

 

As for learning about the transgender experience, I'll offer myself as a resource to those who want to know more. I'll direct them to resources where they can learn all they want. I feel like the best course of action to eliminate fear is education. Getting to know someone in the community means realizing they have a job here, go home, cook dinner and handle their finances, just like everyone else. It's not that scary, but perhaps different. We should all embrace the part of ourselves that we hold back from the world. This is your chance to move beyond awareness and step into acceptance and active understanding. 

Next, learn how the Pride Employee Resource Group sparked Mallika's confidence. 

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