Focusing on Intersectionality and Combined Progress and Efforts — Matthew Welch of Ripple

Matthew Welch is Head of Technical Recruiting at Ripple, the blockchain payments company, where he has worked for nearly a decade. He co-founded Pride@Ripple, the company's LGBTQ+ ERG, at a time when he was the only openly queer employee at the firm. This conversation, part of the Culture Champions series, covers how Pride@Ripple was built, how it operates across Ripple's global offices, and why intersectionality is the ERG strategy that actually works.

How Matthew Welch went from LGBTQIA+ advocate to ERG leader

Welch's path to ERG leadership started long before he had a title for it. By the time he joined Ripple, he had already spent years building advocacy work and recognized immediately that the company needed a LGBTQIA+ community.

What brought him to ERG leadership?

"It all started when I was about to turn 21 and come out and decided to take a job at the LGBTQIA Resource Center on the suicide prevention hot-line. I went from being scared of what people would think of my queerness to being a righteous advocate for mental health among LGBTQIA youth."

He spent years in roles where ERGs did not exist, then joined Ripple. As the only openly queer employee at the time, he started Pride at Ripple organically. When Ripple hired a Head of DEI, the informal community became a formal ERG: one of seven the company now runs. The official mission: the Pride at Ripple ERG aims to bring support, resources, collaboration, and career growth to Ripple employees globally while enabling everyone to bring their full selves to work without editing.

What makes Pride@Ripple's approach to inclusion tangible

Belonging programs that exist only on paper do not change anything. Welch describes a set of practices that connect the ERG's values to daily work experience.

How does Pride@Ripple help employees bring their authentic selves to work?

The ERG operates through several channels simultaneously: a dedicated Slack channel, a mailing list, thought leadership talks that cross ERG lines, donation matching for LGBTQIA+ foundations, and a company norm that employees can dress and express in the way that feels most comfortable and confident. None of these is a single-event program. They are ongoing conditions that shape how work feels.

Is Pride@Ripple integrated into the recruiting process?

"Pride at Ripple and all of our ERGs are very intertwined within our recruitment process. Jim, my VP of Talent, is a co-lead of Pride with me. We take a lot of what we learn from our Ripple Community ERG meetings and put this directly into our recruitment process."

The ERG Ambassador Program Welch describes lets prospective candidates speak with an ERG member before they accept an offer. It makes inclusion part of the candidate experience, not just the employee experience.

How Pride@Ripple honors Trans Awareness Week

Trans inclusion is where many ERGs stop at symbolic gestures. Welch describes what substantive programming looks like at Ripple.

What did Pride@Ripple do for Trans Awareness Week?

"This year for Trans Awareness Week we programmed a week of content for the company, including every day facts, readings, statistics on the trans community."

For National Coming Out Day, they hosted a fireside chat with a Ripple employee who shared their experience as a parent of two children who both transitioned in their young adulthood. His broader advice for ERG leaders working to make their companies more trans-inclusive: start with pronoun normalization in everyday communication, not just during awareness weeks.

Why intersectionality is the backbone of ERG strategy at Ripple

The most effective ERG programs at Ripple are not siloed by identity. Welch describes a model where ERGs regularly collaborate, share programming, and jointly tackle inclusion challenges that cross community lines.

How does Pride@Ripple work alongside other ERGs?

"Our ERGs here thrive on the concept of intersectionality. We frequently will partner with another one of our ERGs around events and speaking tracks."

For Trans Awareness Week, Pride@Ripple partnered with Able@Ripple to discuss how to better support trans community members with disabilities. This kind of cross-ERG collaboration on intersectionality at work ensures that no employee's identity is treated in isolation.

How are executive sponsors chosen?

"I was lucky enough through my experience managing technical recruiting to partner with our VP of Data as our executive sponsor. I noticed that within Engineering, D&I numbers really struggled the most, and we had a VP who was super passionate about changing this."

The pairing is intentional: matching the executive sponsor to the function where representation is weakest creates accountability where it matters most.

What advice ERG founders wish they had from the start

Welch has built an ERG from zero, navigated company growth, and led a program across eight global offices. His advice is grounded in what he actually learned.

What does he recommend for companies starting ERGs?

"The first piece of advice I have is, 'stick to it.' It is never easy to launch a company wide effort like launching ERGs. First comb through your organization and see who has that passion for inclusion. I highly recommend not starting with just one all-encompassing ERG as the messaging gets muddled."

Start with people who have genuine passion, not people who seem like they should lead the work. Create separate ERGs for distinct communities rather than grouping everyone under one diversity umbrella. Building an inclusive culture through intentional community design means treating each group's identity with specific focus.

How do you become an ally?

Welch closes with a five-point framework worth committing to practice:

• Understand your privilege. Knowing what you have that others do not is the starting point, not a conclusion.
• Listen and do your homework. Learning is your responsibility, not the burden of the communities you want to support.
• Speak up, not over. Amplify voices that already exist. Do not center yourself.
• You'll make mistakes. Apologize when you do. Accountability without defensiveness.
• Ally is a verb. It is not a title you claim. It is something you demonstrate consistently.

Where LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion stands in 2025 and 2026

The work Welch describes at Ripple addresses a real and persistent gap. Recent data shows LGBTQ+ employees continue to face barriers to belonging that formal ERG programs are well-positioned to address: but only if built with structure and intentionality.

Belonging gaps persist despite representation gains

The correlation between executive sponsorship: which Welch describes as standard at Ripple: and ERG effectiveness is one of the most consistent findings in DEI research. SHRM research on ERG effectiveness consistently points to executive buy-in as the single strongest predictor of ERG impact. ERGs without senior-level advocates rarely produce systemic change.

Intersectionality has moved from concept to practice standard

The approach Welch describes: where ERGs collaborate across identities rather than operating in isolation: reflects where best-practice DEI has moved. Organizations that address psychological safety across identity groups as interconnected rather than separate see stronger overall belonging scores. Inclusive meeting practices and cross-ERG programming are two of the highest-leverage places to start for companies building this kind of culture for the first time. The webinar on the power of employee resource groups goes deeper on what makes ERGs effective at scale. See how AllVoices supports workplace inclusion and employee relations.