As we wrap up the year, we’re excited to share some 2022 highlights that exemplify the strength of community built through the cross-collaborative efforts of our Yelp Employee Resource Groups’ (YERG) leaders and members. We look forward to seeing what these groups will accomplish in 2023.
Recurring Events
As they say, “repetition is key,” and at Yelp, we certainly know it to be true when it comes to connection opportunities! The following series allowed our various communities to meet on a regular basis to casually connect and get to know one another, often without a set agenda.
Make Your WAY
Women at Yelp (WAY) meet on a monthly to quarterly basis, using topics submitted by their membership to break the ice. Some of these include setting goals, listening to and discussing a series of podcasts, having coaching coffee chats with Bravely, and hosting community check-ins.
Soulful Sessions
This year, BlackBurst introduced Soulful Sessions. This is a monthly slot of time when community members get together, chat about what’s top of mind, and often play games. It’s served as a great way for folks to network and feel a more personal connection to the community beyond larger events.
Pink Wednesdays
OUTburst, our LGBTQIA+ employee resource group, also continued Pink Wednesdays. Similarly, these sessions have been a safe space for our LGBTQ+ community members to gather, share, and reflect. It also brought many folks, including allies, to sessions talking about coming out stories, and LGBTQ history.
YERG Highlights
Transgender Day of Remembrance Employee Panel
We have a long tradition of celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOV) at Yelp. In this TDOV panel discussion, employees talked about what TDOV means to them and how we can be allies to the trans and nonbinary communities.
Yelp Parents: Taking Charge of Anxiety – A Playbook for Kids
Kate Ekman is a child psychologist specializing in anxiety. We invited her to talk about how parents can support anxious children. In this webinar, Kate discussed the neurobiological origins of anxiety and how to present this to children in a framework they can understand. Together, parents and kids can take charge of their anxiety using a variety of skills targeting cognitive and somatic symptoms.
BlackBurst: Juneteenth Trivia
Yelp recognizes Juneteenth as a global paid holiday. Juneteenth (also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day) is a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and recognizes Black freedom and achievement. Last year, we learned about the history of Juneteenth from Dr. Marguerite Hinrichs and this year, we put employees’ knowledge to the test with a fun and engaging round of Juneteenth trivia.
WAY Presents: Demystifying Career Advancement
We were joined by Jennifer Litwin, from The Forem, where she broke down five critical skills you need to open up new opportunities and how these skills can be incorporated into new behaviors.
YAPI: Build your Voice and Presence in your Professional World
YAP (Yelp Asian Pacific Islanders) and WAY collaborated with employee resources groups (ERGs) from other companies on this open dialogue. We heard from executives at companies like Bed Bath & Beyond, Colgate, Netflix, and Yelp as they spoke about creating career paths, navigating hybrid and remote work, and more.
SomosYelp: Diversity Dialogue – Advocating for Yourself
Advocating for ourselves and setting boundaries are universal topics that affect both our personal and professional lives. This Latinx Heritage Month, SomosYelp brought forth an actionable dialogue for how folks in (and outside) the Latinx community can embrace their truth and champion themselves and others by navigating healthy boundaries in the workplace.
NATIV: Indigenous-owned Businesses Panel
November is Native American Heritage Month, and we kicked off the celebrations with an honest chat about entrepreneurship in the Indigenous community. We highlighted some challenges that are common to all entrepreneurs, and others that are particular to the Native American community. This chat was moderated by Tori R., the leader of NATIV, a newly-established YERG.
Intersectional Programming at its Finest
While all groups have their unique missions, we strive to create spaces where intersecting identities can feel seen, heard, and acknowledged. Some examples of events that our YERGs accomplished include:
Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
Breaking taboos and creating visibility—that’s what many of our YERG events are about. WAY, YelpParents, and YelpMoms partnered to shed light on postpartum depression and anxiety.
A Yelp Conversation on the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Queerness
BlackBurst, WAY, and OUTburst elevated both Black LGBTQ+ and Queer Black Women voices at Yelp.
Black and Asian Solidarity
YAPI and ColorCoded continued a discussion on the history of alliances between Black and Asian communities.
Colorism in the Latinx Community
BlackBurst and SomosYelp joined forces to have a much-needed conversation about colorism in the Latinx community.
