Pride Month Through the Eyes of Two Long-Standing PG&E Coworkers

Don Howerton (left) came from Oklahoma to join PG&E as an attorney 20 years ago. He had worked for a large company, similar in size to PG&E, before coming out west. “There was absolutely no support for gay employees,” said the senior director of commercial procurement. “Zero protections whatsoever from the company or the state. I was explicitly denied a bonus one year for being gay.”

Tony Abdulla (right) has been with PG&E for nearly 40 years. The supply chain expert category lead remembers how the company’s PrideNetwork Employee Resource Group was started in 1986 in a coworker’s kitchen. “The first group met offsite in secret because they were fearful for their jobs,” he said.

Howerton and Abdulla, who was also a PrideNetwork ERG president for eight years, sat down for a Q&A recently to share how Pride Month has evolved over the last 20-plus years and what still needs to be done in the community. (NOTE: Answers have been edited for brevity.)

Q: What is Pride Month to you?

HOWERTON: It’s 100% a celebration! We can celebrate, recognize and honor the historic and current struggles at the same time. I believe the more we celebrate ourselves, the more energy we pull together to keep fighting for what we need—continued expansion and protection of rights. We’re far from done.

ABDULLA: It’s a celebration of who we are and our achievements in LGBTQ+ rights. It’s a time to remember there are still many countries in the world who criminalize same-sex relations. It’s a time to remember those who came before us who struggled and sacrificed over the years to accomplish the rights we now have. Pride Month is a time to remember that we can’t rest on our achievements in the rights we’ve achieved.

Q: How has PG&E’s Pride Month celebration changed over the years?

HOWERTON: The recognition has become more nuanced and expansive in terms of digging into the challenges that LGBTQ+ coworkers at PG&E face. Our celebration has become full of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and fierceness! Our PG&E contingent in the San Francisco Pride Parade has gone from a handful of people walking with a bucket truck—if we were lucky to get it—to several hundred people marching with pride alongside our CEOs and other senior leaders.

ABDULLA: The company’s first official participation in the San Francisco Pride Parade was in 1988. We had a truck, thanks to a few company leaders who authorized its use. I was overwhelmed at the adoration the crowds showed toward us. Each year was a struggle to get leadership support to authorize and sponsor any Pride Month activities. I’m happy and proud to say our leadership today is so much more supportive than when I first started.

Q: What do you want people to know about the LGBTQ+ community?

HOWERTON: Please know we are not safe—yet. We have not arrived—yet. We haven’t broken down all of the barriers—yet. We need you, our allies, to stay by our sides until we are. You’d miss us if we weren’t here. You need us. The world needs us. We contribute to all facets of our society. We are different and the same.

ABDULLA: People are afraid of those who may be different than them. Only when you get to know someone who’s different will you begin to possibly understand them. When we’re in a supportive, safe environment allowing us to be open as to who we are, then we can then show up to do our best at our job. 

Q: What does it mean when you see how PG&E recognizes its LGBTQ+ customers and coworkers?

HOWERTON: It’s one of the reasons why I’ve chosen PG&E as my work home for all these years. It means we’re heard, seen and appreciated. It means I can be myself every day. It means all the energy I’d otherwise be pouring into self-protection can instead be poured into being of service to the company and others.

ABDULLA: To me, simply, this is an example of leading with love.