Honoring Military Appreciation Month & Intersectionality

At Taco Bell Corp., our equity, inclusion and belonging journey takes an intersectional approach to understanding the many dimensions of diversity that exist in our organization. Through intersectionality, we encourage cross-community, cross-sector and cross-issue collaborations, investing equally in each other’s agendas, narratives, and celebrations.

While the month of May recognizes Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage, it is also Military Appreciation Month. In the spirit of intersectionality, we simultaneously celebrate veterans of all backgrounds who are or have served our country. Our AAPI Employee Resource Group (ERG), Live Más CREAsians, has included inspiring stories of AAPI veterans in their weekly newsletter - reminding us of the valor and service the AAPI community has dedicated to our Armed Forces.

In addition, our LGBTQIA+ ERG, Live Más Pride, recently dedicated a segment of their meeting to celebrate members and allies who have served. Dave Yocom, Eric Rhoades, and Christina Glennon shared their personal stories of service, helping the Live Más Pride community develop more awareness and understanding of veterans through the lived experiences of their own members. The conversation ended with an overview of LGBTQIA+ military history through an eye-opening timeline of events. We know that vulnerable discussions like this will help bridge the gaps that exist through a shared commitment to progress and change.

We believe working in collaboration will help amplify the importance of coming together as a community to achieve our equity, inclusion and belonging goals. Intersectionality recognizes the many ways we are connected as a community and highlights the importance of ensuring that all members are respected, seen and heard. Taco Bell Corp. ERGs and allies strive to include everyone in our programming and celebrations. Like our veterans and active military members, we feel we are all in the fight together and will work to ensure no one feels left out or behind. After all, we believe in all people.