Pride month is held in the U.S. each June in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. We celebrate Pride in recognition of the strides LGBTQ+ individuals have made throughout history and continue to support our community and generations to come. This month members from LGBTQ+@Doximity, an Employee Resource Group (ERG) dedicated to LGBTQ+ Doxers and allies, are coming together to answer questions on topics surrounding Pride!
How do you navigate your identity in the work place?
Zach Friedman, Director, Editorial & Product
This is something I struggled with earlier in my career. My first job after college was in consulting, and I would often find myself in rooms with 8-10 people whom I didn’t know well, and someone would ask if I had a girlfriend. The situation was awkward on its own, but on a more personal level I was afraid that people who didn’t know me well would judge me or that it might affect my career. At that point there were no openly LGBTQ+ individuals in my office’s 300 person practice.
Even 15 years later I still feel that fear tug when someone asks me about having a girlfriend, although it’s much fainter. I’m more comfortable in my own skin and in my career, and less concerned about judgment. For the most part I am forward with my identity, which usually means referring openly to my husband. I want to avoid being in situations where people make assumptions about me, and I also want to be sure that I’m being visible for others who might be finding their own way. It’s also important to me to find companies and teams that are open and accepting, which fortunately isn’t too hard these days.
Natalia Birgisson, MD, Director, Strategy
When I did my surgery rotation in medical school, my senior resident was a powerhouse woman in surgery. She was kind and energetic yet undeniably the best in class at what she did. To my knowledge she was the first openly LGBTQ+ surgeon at our institution. She owned that identity in the same kind, energetic, undeniable way that she did everything else — and she engaged her colleagues with the assumption that they were allies. Which made them want to be allies.
How I navigate my identity at work is simply by following her example. I hope I can do my job well and simultaneously engage my colleagues in a way that makes us all better at bridging differences. So far that’s been easy at Doximity. While here, I’ve been on teams that support each other across multiple different identities while building best in class digital tools for doctors.
Oscar Guzmán, MA, Social Media & Community Manager
I came out when I was 14 years old and had to navigate early on in my life what it means to be myself to people I have known for a lifetime and every new person I've met going forward. And with trial and error throughout the years, I've learned to be confident in who I am and seek out spaces where I can be my full authentic self. So when joining companies like Doximity, it is so, so important to me to find ones that align with my values -- with who I am. But even with that said, it's not always easy, no matter how confident I feel. Regardless, I look at my identity as my truth and no one can take that away from me. And I'm so grateful to have surrounded myself with things, people, organizations that support me.
We're always hiring and we'd love to hear from you! See our open positions across all departments, including our Engineering Department.