As founding head of DS Pride, David decided to be part of the solution.
What is your name and what do you do in your company?
My name is David Parsons. I’m the Head of B2B Segment Marketing at Digital Science within the Central Marketing team. My team and I work between sales and portfolio marketing teams to understand our customers and users better, uncover new audiences, and build intangible brand value. I love my job here because we get to be involved in every part of the business and build new bridges.
What does Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mean to you and why is this issue important to you?
As a gay man living in New York City, diversity, equity and inclusion are intrinsically part of my life – in and out of my career. However, I’m aware that I have a certain privilege in being comfortable in my own skin and accepted by those around me. Especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement a few years ago and in light of growing culture wars that demonize especially the trans community, I feel that now is a more important time than ever to amplify the voices and lift the profiles of those in our community who are underrepresented and underserved. Everyone deserves a seat at the table, and all of us who are already there should do what they can to move over and pull up a chair.
What has helped you to arrive and feel comfortable in your company?
I’ve been really blessed to be in an industry that has traditionally been open and inclusive, so in a lot of ways I feel like I’m just benefitting from an overall culture within publishing (and its peripheral technology companies like Digital Science) that’s naturally had its arms open to the queer community. Of course, it always helps being in an organization like Digital Science, where I’m surrounded by smart, likeminded, and driven people every day, who have always treated me as an equal.
Who/what empowers you?
I’m empowered every day by everyone around me — at HPG and at Digital Science. I am grateful to have HR and management teams that truly care about the welfare of their people and always have our backs. I’m also empowered by the company’s dedication to equity in research, which is exemplified in so much of the work we do around the world. Finally, I am empowered by my own friends and family, many of whom I get to also call coworkers. I’m thankful to have a life and career full of so many incredible people.
What does your company do to promote diversity?
Digital Science and HPG have done a lot in recent years to promote diversity in its teams and its products, including the creation of many new ERGs and improved recruiting language to encourage underrepresented candidates to apply. I’ve also noticed more transparency in salary offerings, so that anyone coming in can have a more equal start. I’m really glad to be the founding head of DS Pride, so Digital Science can continue to serve its diverse employees and users in a meaningful way.