How can you belong in a place where people can’t say your name?
That’s the premise of Version 1’s SWAN #StartsWithAName movement. The Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIBs) team at Version 1 asked employees to do something simple: put the phonetic pronunciation of their name on their e-mail signature as SWAN Founder Aoibhe (pronounced Eefa like FIFA without the F!
) Cantwell suggested.

But my name is so easy to pronounce!
Probably, but only for people where you come from. When looking for submissions to Version 1’s name pronunciation video, a colleague who felt their name was a no-brainer was perplexed at first — very willing to help out but baffled as their name was easy to say in their mind. However, when you reassess your name with your diversity lens in hand, it can dawn on you that your name is not so simple in a country miles away.
Hassan. Marcin. Aimee. Salma. Luis. Bilaji. Niki. José. Augistín. Mirland. Beatriz. Rashad. Noam. Greg. James. Omri. Bo. Mohammed. Dominika. Hassan. Marcin. Aimee. Salma. Luis. Bilaji. Niki. José. Augistín. Mirland. Beatriz. Rashad. Noam. Greg. James. Omri. Bo. Mohammed. Dominika. Hassan. Marcin. Aimee. Salma. Luis. Bilaji. Niki. José. Augistín. Mirland. Beatriz. Rashad. Noam. Greg. James. Omri. Bo. Mohammed. Dominika. Hassan. Marcin. Aimee. Salma. Luis. Bilaji. Niki. José. Augistín. Mirland. Beatriz. Rashad. Noam. Greg. James. Omri. Bo. Mohammed. Dominika.
Be Part of the SWAN-Certified Community
We are releasing SWAN into the wild and certifying our charter signatories from February of 2021.
