According to Stonewall’s research, more than a third of LGBTQ+ staff (35 per cent) hide who they are at work, while one in five (18 per cent) have been the target of negative comments because they’re LGBTQ+.
Creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive has never been more important. Being able to be yourself and feel comfortable contributes to your sense of belonging. When we spend most hours of the day at work, there’s a clear case as to why being able to be yourself in the workplace is essential.
At Colt, we’re thrilled to have been given a Silver award by Stonewall for our commitment to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people in the workplace.
What is the award?
Stonewall is the world’s second-largest LGBTQ+ charity. For twenty years, it has been supporting employers to create welcoming workplaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people.
Colt’s Silver award comes as part of Stonewall’s Bring Yourself to Work campaign which highlights the importance of inclusive work environments.
What have we done in the past year?
At Colt, we have an LGBTQ+ and Allies network called Pride Matters, which aims to raise issues of LGBTQ+ experiences in the workplace and provide education on how to be an ally. We have a global committee that drives a lot of initiatives to do just that in the business. Here’s a snippet of some of the activities we’ve done in the past year:
- We’ve worked on raising transgender and non-binary awareness, encouraging employees to share their pronouns. We’ve also run two sessions with Mermaids, a UK transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse youth charity; one being a workshop and the other having Colties share their personal stories
- As a business, we’ve started to embed inclusion into our procurement process. We’re doing this to assess our suppliers and to talk to our supply chain about inclusion and diversity
- For our employees, we’ve launched LGBTQ+ e-learning. This is a really interactive learning piece, put together by LGBTQ+ freelancers/designers
As a company, we still have more to do when it comes to inclusion and diversity and we’re always striving to be better. This award from Stonewall shows we’re on the right track and making significant progress. Here’s to going for gold next year!
Jake Potter [He/Him], Head of Social Media & Pride Matters Global Lead, Colt Technology Services
Colt Technology Services
02 March 2022
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