As the pandemic reached America, so did a rise in violence and xenophobia directed at the Asian community. Cox Communications used this backdrop to launch its first Asian American & Pacific Islander employee resource group in May 2020. It was an immediate success, with membership growing to more than 1,000 employees across all three Cox divisions within a year of launch.

The Lotus ERG already has two signature events under its umbrella. “In My Kitchen” has Cox employees teach others how to make Asian dishes, while “TEAchable Moments” features Cox and community leaders sharing lessons they’ve experienced throughout their lives. Speakers have included Mike Magpayo, head men’s basketball coach at UC Riverside and the first NCAA Division I head coach of Filipino descent, and former Olympian Nei-Kuan Chia, senior director of strategy & corporate development at Cox Enterprises.

When the country was rocked by the Atlanta spa shootings, in which six of the eight victims were of Asian descent, Lotus hosted an open forum for employees to share what was on their hearts. It also created the “Hate is a Virus” toolkit to share different resources on how to report incidents of AAPI racism and tips to combat stereotypes against the AAPI community.

Lotus continues to bloom, continuously highlighting the 48 Asian countries that make up the AAPI community through employee spotlights, “Fun Fact Fridays” and celebrations of popular Asian holidays like Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival

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