5-minute read - by Peter van Lonkhuyzen, January 26, 2022
To be visible – that was the goal that a group of ASML employees in the LGBTI community set for themselves in 2014. It was the start of Pink ASML (now known as 'Proud'), a leading employee network within ASML. Co-founders Martijn van den Tillaart and Dulce Pumareja share how it all began.
The idea was born in ASML's cafeteria in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. It was 2014, and occasionally a group of colleagues from the LGBTI community would have lunch together. That year, a Pride Walk was taking place in Eindhoven. The group started to discuss whether any of them should take part and, if so, whether they should do so as an ASML delegation. One consequence would be that they would become visible as gay or lesbian within ASML. Everyone would know about their orientation.
"Yes, we need to do that!" was the group consensus. They'd taken their own public 'coming out' in stride, and now it was time to put ASML's LGBTI community on the map.
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Martijn was one member of the group who joined the Pride Walk and went on to set up Pink ASML. He was chairperson for the first five years.
"The most important thing is visibility."
But how do you set up an employee network? The colleagues were engineers, not activists. So the brand-new Pink ASML committee assigned different tasks to different people. Martijn contacted Workplace Pride, an international organization with a membership comprising large companies that supports LGBTI initiatives. Workplace Pride provided Martijn with tips to increase awareness of Pink ASML. One of the starting points was to hold lunches and social events to attract colleagues who were also members of the LGBTI community. Soon after, the committee began to organize annual activities as part of Coming Out Day. And a few years later, the group participated in Canal Pride in Amsterdam.
"The most important thing is visibility," says Martijn. "When our colleagues see that this group exists and that there are people who want to discuss the acceptance of their orientation or expression, it can also have a positive impact on their own situation and make it easier to raise the issue with their workmates."
Through Pink ASML, employees are also able to contact a confidential advisor from the LGBTI community for support or advice.
The committee soon realized that their employer had a positive attitude towards Pink ASML, and not just because inclusiveness is a core value of ASML. ASML is growing rapidly, and recruiting talent is one of the biggest challenges it faces. Candidates who are trying to find out more about the company and its inclusiveness can read about Pink ASML in the Life at ASML section of asml.com.
