“Is It Because I’m Gay? Or Is It Because I’m Black”: Dax Alexander Speaks on His Experiences Travelling

Dax Alexander is a Senior Director at Tag. In this interview with myGwork, he talks about his experiences traveling and working in a truly global organization.

Let’s get started: can you tell us about yourself and your role within your organization?

I'm a Senior Director at Tag. Tag is a creative production organization that was started over 30 years ago, but I started with Tag originally in 2005. I've been in and out of the organization a lot, but always Tag adjacent. I tell people I’ve worked probably with the same ten people over the last 20 years, but at different organizations. As you might imagine, the creative industry tends to be very small.

Do you frequently travel abroad for work? You’re known as Tag’s Digital Nomad, what exactly does that mean?

I've always traveled for work – my positions have generally had a global aspect to them. Traveling to different places for work has always been something that I've done, also for pleasure, as well. When Covid started, I was actually in Hawaii. I flew back, landed at the end of February or at the beginning of March, and people were already becoming very concerned, and then restrictions started that same month. But you know, because everything shut down, it became very clear that you could pretty much work from anywhere. I decided to take that up and, true to form, started traveling and working. First domestically, staying with friends, but as things started to open up again, I would evaluate country by country, going to different places and working from there. I've worked from London to Costa Rica.

Generally, I look at what restrictions there are and how difficult it is to get in and out of the country, following all the appropriate measures around Covid test and social distancing, etc. That's pretty much what I've been doing.

Have you had any relocation policies or benefits that have helped you be able to move throughout?

One of my roles at Tag was as Head of Solutions for EMEA. They moved me from the US to be London-based for two years. I kept my place in New York but rented a place in London, and the company supported me with a commuter benefit package. Support from Tag to travel between New York and London was important to my success within the organization. It was a really great experience.

My partner lives in the UK, so I travel back and forth. I generally spend three weeks here and then three weeks there. If he's on vacation, we might go someplace else for two weeks, but regardless of where I am, I always work US hours. Effectively I work the evening shift so I could work with my American colleagues.

What's that experience like having a partner in the UK? That's a very long distance partnership.

It's interesting because when we're together, we spend every minute together because he's working from home now as well. I feel like three weeks is like the maximum before everyone's looking to retreat to separate countries for three weeks. It works for us, it really does. Getting in and out of the UK is very tricky for UK citizens as they can't really travel right now with the exception of the “Green List” countries, but even some of those countries aren't allowing UK citizens in. This makes it easier for me to travel, but it requires five Covid tests to get there, and then a test to come back. It's expensive and time-consuming. But you know, you have to do what you have to do.

Are you out to your colleagues abroad?

I am. I sit on our Diversity and Inclusion Council at Tag. I'm in a few different employee resource groups and I'm out to my colleagues, which is interesting because I wasn't completely out at first, back in 2005, because it was a very different organization. Recognizing visibility is super important to people. I felt like it was important for me, given my role at the firm, to make sure that they had a visible person of color, a person that is out so that they can say, ‘Oh, that person looks like me.’ Our Americas CEO, Ajit Kara, has a desire for Tag to be one of the best places to work, and he recognizes that diversity and inclusion are really a core part of that strategy. In the month of June I participated in a Pride panel discussion and led a Juneteenth forum with colleagues and friends, supported by Ajit, to educate and share insight and experience. Each session was attended more than half our employees.

Have you ever encountered any LGBTQphobia, when traveling for work?

When traveling for work? Every country has different cultural tolerances. There is a checklist that I go through in my head when I cross a border. When I was single, I took all the dating apps off my phone, all the things that would potentially put me at risk as a gay person traveling abroad. But you know, I've never had issues with my sexual orientation being a part of a concern. I have had issues with being a person of color. Intersectionality is something that I think everyone recognizes now, but you'll always wonder when things are going south. I'm always asking ‘Is it because I'm gay? Or is it because I'm Black?’ And sometimes, more often than not, it depends on the place.

Does your organization give any advice related to safety while traveling?

Between the Tag Americas HR team and DE&I Council, the organization works to stay ahead of employee needs to support our safety and well-being. There are memos on how to mitigate risk when working with different countries and regions and best practices. When there are specific issues in a particular country it is addressed.

Do you travel to attend Pride abroad?

I don't often go to Pride – it's overwhelming. I don’t try to arrive for Pride but it often coincides with my visits. I went to Pride in Amsterdam, which was amazing. I've been to Pride in the UK, which is also fun. I’ve Been to Pride in Spain, in Barcelona specifically, which was great. Those are the only places [outside of the US]. Barcelona and Amsterdam were amazing – smaller, but still amazing. The only thing about Amsterdam is I'm about five foot seven, and everyone there is so tall, so my friends would put me up on things so that I could actually see what was happening.

Would you book a holiday to a country that is not LGBTQ+ friendly when traveling alone? What about when traveling with your partner?

It's a great question. It's come up a few times – I am of two minds about it: on one hand, you don't want to give money to a country where I'm not accepted. But on the other hand, there are people who live there that are LGBTQ and you can't you can't just disregard an entire community because they are in a country where they were oppressed. In fact, it should be the opposite. So I probably wouldn't take my partner, because I'm just protective. But if I feel like there's an opportunity to be there and be a part of a community that needs better inclusion, then I shouldn't disregard that opportunity.

Do you think tourism can be a powerful economic force? And can you think of any examples?

Absolutely. Covid demonstrated how the lack of tourism can hurt economies and entire countries. So many countries are anxious to have people because lack of tourism just eliminates jobs completely. Costa Rica is an example. They relaxed their Covid travel restrictions – in my opinion – too much, and allowed Americans in and, when we were able to go out into the community, finally, [we could] see that the majority of the economy there comes from tourism.

A couple of years ago, I went on a gay cruise. There were roughly 5,000 people on the ship. Just run the numbers in your head – there are hundreds of millions of dollars in pay from the gay community alone when you have a tourism mechanism that is inclusive.