How our Pride PLUS group provides an open and safe environment

I grew up in the beautiful coastal county of Cornwall and now live in the centre of the vibrant, creative city of Bristol. Growing up in a rural place like Cornwall came with challenges as a young queer person and despite having supportive friends and the most incredible mum and nan, it wasn't until I moved to Bristol at age eighteen that I truly started discovering who I was and began living as my true authentic self. Today I am proud gay person. I was born male and go by he/him pronouns, but I identify as gender-fluid. To me this means that my gender expression is fluid between masculine and feminine. I have a partner of nearly two years who makes me very happy, and we are currently saving to buy a house together. I love spending time outdoors visiting local wildlife parks, keeping fit through dance and going on long walks in the countryside. I enjoy discovering new restaurants and bars, watching a movie at the cinema, travelling the globe (nineteen countries so far!), and capturing all the memories made through photography.

What is Pride PLUS?

Pride PLUS is an employee resource group (ERG) for our LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies. We host a number of sessions for our members to come together and discuss matters that impact LQBTQ+ lives in an open and safe environment. I believe supporting inclusive practices bolsters innovative learning, collaborative working and is integral to the success of any business. Pride PLUS not only provides our employees with a network of likeminded individuals where they can share their experiences and learnings of being LGBTQ+ in the corporate world, but it sends a powerful message that Computershare cares about the welfare of all their staff, regardless of who they are.

What are some of the activities organised by our Pride PLUS Employee Resource Group?

We are involved in helping to review company policies that affect our LGBTQ+ employees, we also present panel discussions and guest speaker talks across the year along with sharing articles, learning resources and activities sponsored by other Computershare ERGs, such as disABILITY PLUS and Healthy Minds PLUS.

How did you get involved with Pride PLUS and what is your role within it?

I joined as a member back in late 2021. Very quickly I saw how important this ERG was and the positive impact it was having on our employees, so I successfully applied to become a board member early 2022. Being a board member for Pride PLUS is an absolute pleasure and incredibly rewarding. I have been able to help shape this ERG into what it is today, drawing on my own personal experiences of what it means to be LGBTQ+ in a professional environment to help support and encourage others in a similar position. I am excited to share that as of July I will become the chair of the Pride PLUS board, which is an honour and for me, truly a love letter back to my community and to the people that have helped make me the confident queer individual I am today.

What's your advice for other LGBTQ+ individuals and allies in the workplace?

The strongest message I can send to any other LGBTQ+ individual is to be yourself. Don't let anyone dim your light. Confidence is key in the corporate world. Your opinion matters, your voice needs to be heard.

To allies I would say, always champion those around you regardless of their background, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability. Show the same level of compassion and respect for your LGBTQ+ colleagues as you would anyone else. Don't treat us differently, we just want to get on with our job the same as anyone else. Even a small change such as adding your pronouns to your email signature can make a massive difference to the LGBTQ+ colleagues across your network. This highlights that you are an ally of our community as it normalises the use of pronouns; particularly promoting acceptance of our trans and non-binary employees.

Find out more about our employee resource groups