In June and July, we’re shining a spotlight on diversity, equity and inclusion, and Elysium’s approach to this important subject. Today, we speak with Roy Cochran-Patel, the Communications Lead for Elysium’s LGBTQIA+ employee resource group, about their plans for the future – and an exciting recent name change.
“Our group recently changed its name to United By Pride. It’s a name we really think encompasses what the group is about. The name also encapsulates allies, which is really important; the group isn’t just for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, but for everybody.
“The group is starting to gain traction and reaching out to members proactively to ask what they would like from the group. We’ve also just introduced Coffee Catch Ups. These are really informal – they’re not part of the formal meeting or committee. They’re just a chance to drop in, have a natter, grab a drink and just generally have a chat – virtually.
“It’s a lovely chance to meet colleagues you wouldn’t normally meet. You can drop in for 10 minutes, say hi and leave if you’d like. These take place on the last Thursday of every month at 12.30pm and our colleagues can access via a link on the intranet.
“If people do want to be active in the group itself, then we have committee meetings, which are the third Monday of every month at 3pm. But it’s not all about meetings!
“Last year we attended Manchester Pride, and we’re thrilled to be doing so again this year. We’re part of the walking parade and colleagues will be joining us. There’s also an open invitation for people we support, too. We have a minibus which we’ll be decorating – the theme for this year’s parade is love. We want to encourage fancy dress, so after talking with members we’ve opted for a 60s/70s theme.
“We also understand that there are colleagues and service users across the country who would like to attend Pride events more locally to them and where we can have a presence. We’re actively encouraging services to share what they are doing in recognition of Pride – from bake-offs to marches and parades – and let us share that more widely. We want to celebrate alongside our services and shout about what they are doing!
“Alongside the fun, it’s important we gather feedback. So we have asked three important questions of our members so we can find out what’s important to them about Pride: what it means to them, how we can make the workplace more inclusive and supportive, and what common misconceptions are and how we can address them.
“We never want Pride to be a ‘tick box’ exercise where a logo simply goes ‘rainbow’. One of the big topics at the LGBTQIA+ employee resource group meetings recently has been the High Court ruling on gender recognition. We want to hear from our colleagues about what we should be doing and what they are concerned about.
“This will help us develop and evolve policies. Is the language used inclusive? What do you want that’s not included in there? That’s what the ERGs are here for. We are here to listen, and to influence.”
