“We are all intersectional - uniqueness is our greatest gift. Empathy makes you a better leader.”

This Pride Month, we wanted to replay a few conversations with past LGBTQIA+ guest on this P&G Alumni Podcast.

Shelly McNamara is P&G’s Chief Equality & Inclusion Officer, where she’s responsible for shaping culture, policies, and leadership to promote greater diversity. Shelly’s also an avid storyteller, speaker and writer — her new book No Blanks, No Pauses - weaves her life story with reflections and poetry. Shelly got her start in Sales, and spent 25+ years rising through P&G’s HR ranks, ultimately rising to the level of Executive Vice President - where she worked on some of the company's largest businesses with brand portfolios ranging from $4B to $35B, working on employee populations exceeding 25,000. Shelly’s committed to enabling employees of every background to bring their full selves to work. - an active member of P&G’s Corporate Women’s Leadership Team, and she’s led the expansion of LGBTQ+ employee groups around the globe.

Shelly shares many stories from her personal and professional life - as a mother and “out” female executive. Through her writing - and poetry - she’s been able to process and persevere through many moments of inclusions - and exclusion. Core to Shelly’s every day work is to have people think more about our shared humanity - because ultimately, that’s where true understanding comes from - to tackle the issues we must all face together.