This year, the UK is marking the 50th anniversary of the first-ever Pride march!
50 years ago, hundreds of LGBTQI+ people and their allies participated in the first Pride march in the UK, protesting in London against a society that did not allow them to freely express their true selves and feel safe.
50 years later, we’re still celebrating Pride and everything that it stands for. Thankfully, our society has improved since then, and we’ve seen progressive change for the LGBTQI+ community.
However, we know that despite a more open and accepting society – there is still so much more to be done.
Championing equity, diversity and inclusion at Everyturn Mental Health
At Everyturn Mental Health, we are passionately committed to equity, diversity and inclusion for the benefit of everyone. From our workforce and colleagues, through to our services and the people we support – we are dedicated to making sure that no matter who you are – you’re never alone.
During Pride Month, we will be releasing two very exciting podcast episodes hosted by our very own Adam Crampsie, Chief Executive at Everyturn Mental Health!
Adam will be chatting with Richard Angell, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust. Terrence Higgins Trust is the largest voluntary sector provider of HIV and sexual health services in the UK, running services out of local centres across Great Britain. To find out more, you can visit their website.
Adam will also be speaking with Nancy Kelley, Chief Executive at Stonewall. Stonewall has been campaigning as part of a global movement since 1989, helping create transformative change in the lives of LGBTQ+ people across communities in the UK. To find out more, you can visit their website.
These are incredibly insightful and informative conversations, so stay tuned for these episodes via our Advice Hub!
Our Gender Identity Policy
Across our organisation we have many colleague network groups. The groups are fantastic ways for colleagues to connect with each other, and a great way for allies to learn and offer their support. Our LBGTQIA+ group recently helped us co-create our Gender Identity Policy. This policy is incredibly important to us at Everyturn, as it means we can educate ourselves, use inclusive language and avoid making assumptions. All of these things can have an incredibly positive impact, and helps our colleagues feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work.
Our Gender Identity Policy focuses on:
- Opening up the conversation to help our colleagues understand key terminology.
- A commitment to recognising and respecting personal pronouns. (We recently introduced including personal pronouns on our id badges and email signatures if people are comfortable to do so!)
- Becoming more inclusive with our personal data and records.
- Support and practical guidance for transgender people who are transitioning at work.
- Preventing and tackling discrimination, victimisation, bullying and harassment, on gender identity and across all protected characteristics.
The EW Inclusive Culture Pledge
We recently signed the EW Inclusive Culture Pledge, to ensure that our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion shapes everything we do.
“We pledge to foster an open culture by opening up the conversation on equity, diversity and inclusion. We will give all our colleagues the opportunity to share their story and journey, enable colleagues to ask questions, and build a culture where we all learn from each other.”
As an organisation, we’ll be continuing to make sure that all of our colleagues feel that they can safely and openly be themselves at work. Similarly, we aim to ensure that every one of the people we support throughout our services feels safe, comfortable and able to bring their whole selves into the conversation.
For more information:
- Take a look at our EW Inclusive Culture Pledge article!
- Visit https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/uk-take-pride for more information on Pride Month 2023