Alphabet soup, and why it matters

Rising Tide is the title of this year's PFIP Pride Month Summit; and it's the 12th year that this organization has been in existence here in the Philippines.

- PHILIP CU UNJIENG

PFIP stands for Philippine Financial and Inter-Industry Pride, and when it was formed back in 2013, it sought to align the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity) practices of multi-national companies with Philippine culture. In fact, it was first called the Philippine Financial Industry Pride; as the executives and Pride leaders of the founding five companies all came from the financial sector - Thomson Reuters, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, ANZ, and Wells Fargo.

But from that first five, the PFIP currently has 101 member organizations; and they all stand firm in the commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, and to provide equal opportunities for all professionals, regardless of their SOGIESC (Sex Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics). During the evening Executive Reception that I attended with Issa (Litton), I was frank with the Board members I was seated with, that if not for the pride, just hearing PFIP would not have led me to surmise that championing diversity and inclusion would be the "raison d'être" of the organization.