Wendy's Celebrates & Supports the LGBTQ+ Community

For more than 50 years, June has been designated as Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall Riots. Stonewall lasted for five days – from June 28, 1969 to July 3, 1969 – and was the catalyst for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. It also led to the formation of numerous gay rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD and PFLAG.

We couldn’t talk about Pride and Wendy’s® support for the LGBTQ+ community without first mentioning our values. We firmly believed that everyone should Do The Right Thing and Treat People With Respect, and our teams often consider these principles when deciding to support a cause. All employees should be treated with respect and be encouraged to bring their whole selves to work every day. For that reason, we formed WeQual (the Wendy’s Equality Employee Network) in support of our LGBTQ+ employees in 2015.

WeQual began as a networking group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies to get to know each other, but it soon became clear that our members wanted to serve as a resource to Wendy’s in ways that could make a positive impact on the business. In 2016, our WeQual members reviewed Wendy’s Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index score, realized we had work to do, and made it our mission to improve our score to a perfect 100. To achieve this goal, WeQual has worked in partnership with Wendy’s leaders to:

• - Provide health coverage for transgender individuals
• - Add contractor/supplier non-discrimination standards and philanthropic giving guidelines to our principles
• - Implement LGBTQ+ internal training and education best practices
• - Add domestic partner benefits to our medical plan

In 2020, we achieved a CEI score of 100, and we are extremely proud that Wendy’s has been designated as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign.

Through WeQual’s leadership, 2016 was also the first year that Wendy’s had a presence in Columbus Pride. It’s important to our members and supporters that we support Pride and GLAAD Spirit Day every year, while also organizing internal educational sessions focused on making Wendy’s a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees. We also stay informed on various public policy initiatives and how they may impact the LGBTQ+ community.

In honor of Pride Month, we sat down with WeQual members who have been on this journey since the beginning. We’re proud to have support from across the organization, especially from Wendy’s Senior Leadership Team members, who have had our back along the way. Read more below to learn what Pride Month means to Wendy’s and the plans we have for the future:

What does Pride Month mean to you?

Noel Fonseca (Sr. Analyst, Talent Management): To understand what Pride Month means to me, you have to understand how I grew up. For most of my youth, I was relatively sheltered and didn’t know that just a short drive away there was this hub – a community for people who identified as LGBTQ+ in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Pride is a way to celebrate and honor our stories of resistance and survival – at times with joy and also with a specific call to action of “do not forget”. As a young man, Pride meant celebrating with your chosen family, being proud of yourself, celebrating courage, and being reflective on what others did in the past in order for me to be free to celebrate pride. Then, Pride took on a new meaning for me in 2020 because same sex couples have marriage equality and the Supreme Court recently decided that gay and transgender employees cannot be fired from a job because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Lynn Smith (Manager, Commercialization): For me, Pride Month is about three things. First, it’s a time to reflect on the atrocities committed against everyone in the LGBTQ+ community throughout history and around the world. It’s also a time to remember those who stood up for our rights and fought to be treated equally and not be seen as less than normal. And finally, it’s a time to celebrate the actions and changes we are seeing in our world and to energize the next generation to continue to fight for our rights.

What are you doing to celebrate Pride Month?

Liliana Esposito (Chief Communications Officer): Normally I would be gearing up to participate in all of the Pride weekend activities with my family, including my daughter (who is about to turn 10) who always loves joining me for “the rainbow parade.” Of course, this year is different due to COVID-19, but we are still celebrating and recognizing why we are seeing rainbows on TV and social media. One of the silver linings of this pandemic has been having tons of time at home with my kids without our typical hectic schedule of activities. It’s given me the ability to spend more time talking about things that are important to them that they are observing in the world. “Fairness” is a concept that children grasp really easily, and we have been talking a lot about what is fair and what is unfair, and how we can show up to help make things fair for others if they are not.

Noel: COVID-19 has changed many plans this year. If it was any other year, I would be helping WeQual decorate a float or walking in the Columbus Pride parade. Pride month has taken on a new meaning for me as I see momentum in the Black Lives Matter movement and similarities to the Stonewall Inn riots - people are using their voices to be heard. In honor of pride month, I have become the ally - amplifying the voices of and supporting BIPOC (black and indigenous people of color) co-workers, friends, and family in seeking out equality.

Why did you join WeQual and how has it impacted your professional experience at Wendy’s?

Mike Desantis (Manager, HR): I decided to join WeQual to find a community within Wendy’s of other individuals who identified as LGBTQ+.  It’s important for me to know I have that community to serve as a personal resource as I navigate being a gay man in the workplace, which can sometimes provide challenges that not all people are equipped to help with. I’ve seen WeQual evolve from being a community that provides support for LGBTQ+ employees to a group that provides resources to the Company as it relates to understanding and supporting the company’s LGBTQ+ employees. It’s been an honor to be a part of those changes.

Noel: I joined Wendy’s in 2013 and before my interview, I did my research on Wendy’s LGBTQ+ record. I saw the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (CEI) Score and Wendy’s had a 55 out of 100. I joined Wendy’s for my love of food and marketing, and with the idea that I could possibly make a positive change in the culture and business environment.

While there was an informal LGBTQ+ circle within Wendy’s, I began to inquire about starting an official LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group. WeQual’s first official meeting was held on August 14, 2015. One comment from some of the group members stood out that day – that it was their first-time meeting with other gay people at work in 30 years. That moment made it all worth it. Wendy’s officially recognized WeQual as an ERG on September 15, 2015, and I’m extremely proud that being a founding member of WeQual is part of my professional history.

How has WeQual evolved since you’ve been involved?

Lynn: I’ve been involved in WeQual since the beginning, and I’ve had the opportunity to watch the group grow from being a quiet network group to a more positive voice for our community within the Wendy’s organization. From marching in the Columbus Pride Parade, to the Spirit Day Anti-Bullying Pledge event, to volunteering at Kaleidoscope Youth Center – these events have allowed us to foster an amazing ally support group. It has been awesome to watch WeQual grow and become involved in so many aspects of everyday life at Wendy’s.

Liliana: Wendy’s with WeQual is the only Wendy’s I have ever known, and I don’t think I appreciated how big of a change it was for some employees who identified as LGBTQ+ to see Wendy’s create and embrace the idea of an equality-focused employee network. WeQual has undoubtedly been a force for positive change within Wendy’s. I remember seeing our HRC Corporate Equality Index score when I arrived and thinking, “surely we can do better than that.” And with direct engagement and counsel from WeQual, and a great commitment to diversity and equality from our senior leadership, we’ve seen that score change to 100%. There is still much work to be done, and no single score or number can define the journey, but it is an indication of progress and a commitment to being the best Wendy’s we can be for our entire Wendy’s family.

When you think about the future of WeQual, what excites you?

Noel: I’m excited for new WeQual members to join this resource group, and specifically, the allies who are also stepping up to leadership positions. Allies are an important part for of any organization. When you have an ally step up and speak out, that voice may carry farther than someone who is already established in the group.

Liliana: I think there’s never been a better time to be at Wendy’s, and there’s also never been a better time to be a part of WeQual. WeQual has the opportunity to shape how Wendy’s engages with the LGBTQ+ community as an employer, as a company and as a brand. I’m excited for the opportunity that is ahead of us.

Mike: Wendy’s is ready to have WeQual serve as a true resource for inclusion, and I’m particularly excited and hopeful that we’ll be able to directly reach and affect our restaurant-level employees who may not typically have access to the resources WeQual could provide. We’re just getting started, and the more members of the Wendy’s family we can reach, the better.

Lynn: I’m excited to see WeQual grow beyond the walls of our Restaurant Support Center. If we could reach employees in the field and in our restaurants, we could give them the confidence that Wendy’s is truly inclusive. I want everyone who works for Wendy’s to know that they are safe and can be their real and best self at work.