Pride will be 'different' this year (that's not a bad thing).

What is clear from the past month is that discrimination is still rife. Being different, whether by your race, sexuality, gender, makes you a minority and this, even in 2020, is a “problem”. 

We know that this has an effect on the LGBTQ community in the workplace, with Stonewall reporting that more than a third of LGBT staff (35 per cent) have hidden that they are LGBT at work for fear of discrimination. On top of this, one in ten black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT employees (10 per cent) have been physically attacked by customers or colleagues in the last year.

Imagine not being able to be yourself for 40 hours a week. 

Imagine having to be one step ahead in every conversation, actively avoiding particular topics or carefully choosing ambiguous language. 

Imagine not being able to talk about your loved ones. 

In fact, try it. Next time someone at work asks you, how was your weekend? Try to not mention the gender of your partner, or any detail that would give away your personality, interests or loved ones. 

Let me know how you get on. 

At GoCardless, our culture is built on a foundation of inclusivity. From my very first day I felt able to bring my whole self to work. I know this is a privilege and so, I wanted to share some of the activities that we’re doing throughout Pride Month to hopefully spark some ideas for other organisations. 

In 2019, we founded an official employee resource group: Rainbow; which is committed to fostering an engaged and empowered Rainbow and Ally community. We have hosted some great events, created some fun content but in my opinion, one of the best projects, driven by Rainbow Ally Maxine, is the regular and visible signposting of resources. 

We’ve built an internal page packed with information, a slack group dedicated to the community and this month, as part of our Pride activities we created a glossary. To launch this glossary of LGBTQ terms and slang, we are sharing them daily on our company #announcements channel. 

Often the simplest things can have the biggest impact. And language is one of these – whether written, spoken, on slack, or overheard in the bathroom, language sets the tone. Therefore by normalising language and starting the conversation, we hope to create a more empowered community of allies.  

As part of our Pride activities, we have partnered with Albert Kennedy Trust to honour the Pride March and raise money for the charity. Instead of marching at Pride London, we are encouraging people to walk the 1-mile equivalent, share and donate. 

We have also been giving a platform to the voices from within our Rainbow community, which you can find on our blog or via our Instagram. 

And finally, we’re celebrating Pride a little differently this year. Instead of volunteering or hosting a party, we are having a virtual cocktail making class with a celebrity guest. 

I’m very grateful for the people I get to work with and learn from, and conscious that for others this is not the case.

And despite all this positive activity, I’m acutely aware that it is Pride Month and the whole world is hurting. 

Black people are continuing to be punished and killed by a broken system built on racism, Trans women are being murdered, and an entitled cis-white woman with huge influence feels it’s appropriate to other the Trans community. 

This is the time that we’re supposed to celebrate, dance with ribbons and glitter, and wrap our arms around the whole community of LGBTQ and allies. 

So please read, discuss, ask questions and support in any way you can.