Amplifying ANHPI Experiences: Celebrating the Asian Diaspora at Instacart

We just wrapped another successful Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (ANHPI) Heritage Month with the Asians@ Employee Resource Group (ERG), uniting employees and various community members to honor the contributions of the ANHPI community at Instacart and beyond. Grounded in the theme Unity in Diversity: A Celebration of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage, and coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month, this month’s programming aimed to unite the Asians@ community across the diaspora and uplift moments of intersectionality.

Founded in March 2021, Asians@ was formed to create a safe space for Asian-identifying employees to build community, empower each other, and help support the company’s business goals and objectives. Now three years later, the group continues to help all ANHPI-identifying employees thrive at Instacart. Though May is a focal point, Asians@ actively extends ANHPI conversations year-round, and all events typically focus on either personal wellness, building community, or discussing timely topics.

Standout events this month included getting employees to move their bodies in a virtual Bollywood dance class with the iconic Shwetha Menon, and in-person meet-ups in our New York, Toronto, Chicago, and San Francisco offices so that employees could deepen their connections in real life. Asian-owned companies and popular brands on Instacart, Gimme Seaweed and TWRL Milk Tea, were selected as products to feature. To increase its exposure with employees, Asians@ worked with our facilities team to have them buy more of each snack and have them included as snacks in the office, supporting the group’s goal to positively impact Instacart’s business. The Asians@ community also connected for a virtual watch party of Finding Ohana!, a Hawaiian coming-of-age story about two Brooklyn teenagers.

And keeping mental health front and center, Instacart employees had the opportunity to join virtual sessions led by Spring Health throughout the month, covering a variety of mental wellness topics such as, “Mindfulness to Reduce Your Stress” and “How to Prioritize Your Mental Well-Being.”

“One of the challenges we face as a group, is what type of programming should we focus on given there are so many cultures that fall under the Asian umbrella,” said Sonali Parthasarathy, Senior Software Engineer and co-lead of the Asians@ ERG. “There are employees who are in the Asian diaspora who do not identify with the popular cultural holidays. For example, they could be from Kazakhstan, which is a big country with a deep culture that often goes uncelebrated in America. We try to design our programming in a way that amplifies the lived experiences of as many Asian-identifying Carrots as possible,” said Gwyn Alda Sera, Customer Experience Senior Training Facilitator and co-lead of the Asians@ ERG.

Asians@ also hosts quarterly #ShareTheTea sessions where employees come together to connect, learn more about one another, and explore ways to support and collaborate effectively. Previous sessions have explored topics like Asian representation in Western media, while upcoming events are set to focus on cultural celebrations, career advancement and mentorship, and a virtual holiday celebration. As a way to promote diversity within the Asians@ group, these events often coincide with key Asian cultural occasions, such as the Autumn Festival or Diwali. Further, while there is the main Asians@ ERG group, there are sub-groups in the Asian community that get together occasionally to deep dive on topics of interest. The career advancement and mentorship discussions were so popular last year that it’s included again in 2024.

A co-hosted Fertility Forward event with fellow cross-functional ERGs proved to be a favorite this month! The event was designed to empower employees to make informed and personalized decisions around fertility, family roadmapping, and early parenthood.

Looking to the future, Asians@ is excited to host more career-oriented sessions, continue to influence the business by spotlighting more top Asian brands on Instacart, and collaborate with other Asian-focused ERGs to enhance connections and allyship. They hope that more space is made for the full Asian diaspora and that more Asian employees at Instacart find their cultures and heritages reflected in future programming and the brands they see on Instacart. 

Are you interested in a flex-first job at Instacart? If so, check out our careers site for open roles and our LinkedIn to learn more about what it’s like to work here. 

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