Latinx Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15 to October 15, is a vibrant and significant time to honor the rich cultural heritage, achievements, and contributions of the Latinx community.
The month commemorates the diverse histories of Latin American countries and their influence on the fabric of our society. In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, we heard from two team members from our Uplyft Unidos ERG on what Lyft's theme “¡El Futuro es Nuestro!" means to them and their community.
Jill Gonzalez, Senior Manager of Consumer Communications
In what ways do you believe your passion and cultural heritage have influenced you to participate in Unidos as a member of the ERG?
Growing up with Puerto Rican roots, family and community have always been at the core of everything I do. It’s that same passion for connection that led me to join Unidos. We can celebrate our heritage, elevate each other, and create spaces where all voices are heard. Plus, I get to cheer on all of our favorite teams in the group chats!
How can we continue to honor and integrate the diverse cultural perspectives within the Latinx community to improve our service and connection with each other?
Lyft is all about creating a space where everyone feels they belong, and that starts by listening to our diverse communities. The Latinx community is full of different cultures, languages, and traditions, and it’s in those differences where the real celebration happens. By continuously learning from each other and being open to new perspectives, we can bring that richness into our products, services, and the way we treat our team members and customers.
What does the theme “¡El Futuro es Nuestro!” mean to you, and how do you embody this in your role at Lyft?
“¡El Futuro es Nuestro!” is a reminder that the future is in our hands, waiting for us to shape it. In my role, I see this as taking ownership of how we communicate, push for innovation, and build stronger relationships with our riders, drivers, and local communities. It's about making sure that our future is one where we all feel seen, supported, and ready to ride into whatever’s next… in a Lyft, of course!
Joovay Arias, Software Engineer
In what ways do you believe your passion and cultural heritage have influenced your approach to customer obsession?
Being brought up in an Immigrant Dominican household, we were taught to be passionate and to take pride in the work we do. The drive to always do better eventually led to having a reputation as someone who could provide the best, customer-obsessed service possible.
How can we continue to honor and integrate the diverse cultural perspectives within the Latinx community to improve our service and connection with each other?
We can continue to honor these perspectives in many ways such as, advocating for each other, making more of an effort to listen to the concerns within the community, and by making a more concerted effort to consider diversity when hiring new team members.
What does the theme “¡El Futuro es Nuestro!” mean to you, and how do you embody this in your role at Lyft?
To me this means that we should be proud of our Latinx culture and that we should continue to be role models for the future generations of the Latinx community. We can achieve this by educating those in our community about our careers and giving more visibility for them to see us in these kinds of roles.