Celebrating Black History Month with Leslie Maxie

This week, we continued to celebrate Black History Month with a global event for our Vaulters, featuring special guest Leslie Maxie as our keynote speaker. And wow, what an inspiration Leslie is for us all!

Many of us know Leslie as a 1988 U.S. Olympian and sports commentator, but there is so much more to her story and journey. During the event, Leslie shared her experience in the Olympics, as well as the challenges and roadblocks she has faced and overcome throughout her life as both a woman and a member of the Black community. She gave her perspective on why representation matters – in both our personal and professional lives – the importance of mentorship, and how crucial it is to use our voices to advocate not only for ourselves, but for others.

Black History Month is an opportunity for us to celebrate, remember, and amplify Black voices both past and present. And part of this celebration is also creating awareness of issues and injustices that members of the Black community still face to this day. Listening to the experiences and perspectives of others, and learning how to better support one another, is key to our culture at Commvault.

Just because Black History Month concludes at the end of this month, it doesn’t mean the conversation stops here. One thing (out of many!) Leslie said really resonated with me. When speaking about the DE&I space at companies, she said, “creativity and fear can’t live in the same house.” What a powerful statement. I think it’s sometimes human nature to want to shy away from uncomfortable conversations, particularly when it comes to DE&I, out of fear that we will say the wrong thing. Yet, if we put the fear aside, the creative ways that we can engage with one another in this space become endless. And that’s why here at Commvault we are continuing to drive change and have ongoing conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are committed to cultivating an environment where we can celebrate our differences, because it’s these differences that make our organization stronger and allow us to thrive!

So, as Leslie shared, let’s all inspire ourselves (and each other!) to reach for the gold, whatever that gold may be to each of us individually. Empowering ourselves allows us to win, both personally and as a Vaulter community.

If you are interested in joining our team and becoming a Vaulter, visit our Careers site for more information.