Article Pride at Insight
In honour of Pride Month, we asked one of our Diversity and Inclusivity Taskforce members, John, to talk about his personal experience within Insight and reflect on LGBQT+ issues in the workplace.
By Insight UK / 25 Jun 2020
By Insight UK / 25 Jun 2020
As a member of the Diversity and Inclusivity Taskforce, I was asked to talk about my personal experience within Insight and reflect on LGBQT+ issues in the workplace.
Homophobia in the workplace is alive and homophobia in the workplace is real. According to Stonewall (2018), almost one in five LGBT employees have been target of negative comments or conduct from work colleagues because they’re LGBT. Furthermore, more than a third of LGBT staff have hidden or disguised that they are LGBT at work in the last year because they were afraid of discrimination.
I started at Insight in Managed Services as an Analyst, then moved into the Service Engagement team as a Coordinator and then was recently promoted to Customer Operations Specialist. Upon joining Insight over two years ago, I never realised how committed an employer can be towards its employees. Though I've never felt the need to shout about my sexuality "across the rooftops", it has certainly never held me back at Insight and I know it never will. Insight, with its core values of Hunger, Heart and Harmony are taking further positive and proactive steps with our Diversity and Inclusivity taskforce of which I am really proud to be part of!
We are currently working on so many different initiatives and it is great to be part of such a diverse, likeminded group of people that are committed to making a difference. This is by no means reflected just within the group, but within the wider business as well. There is a great sense of collaboration within the team which reinforce Insight’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. As a result of the many initiatives we are committed to, one of my goals for the business is for Insight to be listed on the Stonewall top 100 employers list. This will be no easy task, however, having secured the Top 20 Best Places to Work listing in Great Places To Work, I genuinely believe that Insight will not have a problem!
My advice to other employers is to adopt a sense of community like Insight. We are living in very unprecedented times and to have a sense of community is very important. The introduction of the Diversity and Inclusivity taskforce is a must for any business wanting to move with the times and attract top talent. In my personal opinion, I believe it is not enough to say that one is not homophobic, racist, sexist, etc. We must be anti these things and I am now a big believer of “see it, say it”, so if you see these things happening, please safely, call it out.
May the Hunger, Heart and Harmony live on!
Customer Operations Specialist
