Pride at Weavr. We are a newish company following our mission, while continually learning and evolving. Part of that journey is embracing diversity and initiating a programme within Weavr that supports Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
This time, it’s through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate and honour Pride Month.
We are not ashamed to admit we have much to learn on this subject. We’re experts in embedded finance, yes. Experts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – specifically the LGBTQ+ community? Not yet. But we’re building our understanding of this community to ensure that we are being inclusive in our thinking and collaboration at work.
It’s not our style to pop a rainbow across our brand without thinking deeply with care and consideration on what it means for the current and future culture we’re creating at Weavr. And hopefully the little ripple we can send out to the broader industry.
All of this is to say that our objective has been to celebrate Pride authentically, with meaning and education along the way – oh, and a dash of fun!
Here are a few examples of what the teams have been up to for Pride Month:
Learning to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community 🤓
To learn how to be the best allies possible to the community, our first Pride event was a virtual workshop led by an external expert. This gives all teams, wherever they’re based in the world, access to education surrounding the topic. Asking those important questions. How can we create a fair, equal, and inclusive world for LGBTQ+ people? And ensuring there is no place for discrimination.
Sarah Taylor led the workshop, creating a safe space for the teams to ask questions surrounding pronouns, addressing unconscious bias, learning why it’s so important to embrace LGBTQ+ allyship and inclusion in the workplace, and the benefits of doing so.
The stats surrounding LGBTQ+ mental health from charities like Just Like Us and Stonewall were shocking. Did you know that 75% of young trans adults have been the victims of verbal abuse in the last year?
Stats like these made it clear why it’s so important we cultivate an inclusive culture here at Weavr and beyond into every day, where people can be their true selves and feel safe and welcome.
Many of us at Weavr really valued learning more about pronouns. Key was the insight that sharing our pronouns is less about us and more about the person we’re talking to. Making a commitment to change was a key aspect of the workshop. Here’s Nick’s example:
Bingo, with a Ginger twist 🍹
Hold on to your rainbow flags! One of London’s best-loved drag queens, Ginger, led the team on an LGBTQ-themed bingo (this brings the dash of fun we mentioned above). Ending the Pride Month celebrations on a high with so. much. laughter.
Meet-ups at local Pride events 🏳️🌈
Whether that’s Brighton, London or wherever the most local one is. Fun was had by many across the globe honouring and celebrating all that Pride encompasses. And our colleagues in Malta still have their celebrations to look forward to with Christina Aguilera headlining there in September, where the theme is “Equality from the Heart“.
“Here’s my big learning from the workshop and being at Pride London: the LGBTQ+ community has painstakingly created a space for everyone to be what they want to be, not have to apologise about it, but always to be sensitive and open to how others wish to make of themselves.
For me, personally, it felt hugely liberating, but also a reminder to support that freedom in others.”
Alex Mifsud, CEO and Co-Founder, Weavr
So following on from our International Women’s Day efforts back in March, honouring Pride Month with education at the forefront will be something that all at Weavr can carry with them long past the end of June.
Acting authentically in the spirit of Pride
Nowadays, Pride in many countries is a celebration. However, we should take time to remember that the first march came about as a commemoration of the Stonewall Inn riots that took place in 1969. It’s a protest march. Now in 2023, 64 countries still have laws that criminalise homosexuality (50%+ in Africa). Hence, it’s important to us that we don’t lose sight of the need to act – and celebrate – with purpose.
What do you and your company do?
Would love to hear other examples and things we can learn from and maybe implement in the future. Get in touch and let us know.
