What’s the great thing about people? Well, we’re all different, we are all unique, we all have our own story to tell. Our life experiences are what make us diverse. So, we’re opening up.
Inclusion and diversity is the belief that every single individual matters. And that’s why by opening up and sharing our stories, we can celebrate difference and uniqueness that bit more.
Every February in the UK is LGBT+ History Month. At Colt, we reached out to our employees and offered them the chance to open up and highlight an LGBT+ person in history and what they’ve done.
In our final LGBT+ History Month blog, we spoke to Tommy Ou, our San Francisco-raised Senior Lawyer based in Tokyo. In his role, he is primarily responsible for commercial legal matters in APAC and the US.
Q: Hi Tommy, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Can you briefly sum up what LGBT+ History Month is?
A: It is a month dedicated to observing and discussing the history of LGBT+ rights and movements.
Q: Why is it important to the LGBT+ community?
A: After years of progress, we have accomplished much with LGBT+ rights, but it’s important to remember how hard-fought everything is, and that it can always change.
Q: What does LGBT+ History Month mean to you?
A: Similar to civil rights, it is a living monument to how difficult, important and precious equality is for all.
Q: Do you think we need to do more to talk about LGBT+ history and why?
A: I think it is important to raise its visibility while easing people less familiar with the topic into the discussion.
Q: Who is your role model in LGBT+ history and why?
A: Harvey Milk, as one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., is an inspiring figure who symbolised hope to LGBT+ youths across the country.
Q: Do you have a specific quotation that resonates with you in your life?
A: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde.
Q: If you could encourage people to do one thing this LGBT+ History Month, what would it be?
A: For those who are still unfamiliar with the movement, please ask. Any question would do.
For more information about inclusion and diversity at Colt, have a look at our I&D page.
What's your goal today?
1. Are you on the Colt IQ network?
Our network connects over 31,000 buildings worldwide powering companies such as Hitachi, Atos, Forbes, Arthur D Little, Brussels Airlines and thousands of others. Find out if you're Colt connected now.
2. Learn about digital infrastructure
We've written thousands of guides and white papers, regularly publish content on our blog and host regular events on everything from enterprise network connectivity, to cloud, digital transformation and the hybrid workforce.
3. Join our team
To learn more about joining our team of over 5000 people around the world, and to browse our current open roles visit https://careers.colt.net/.
