I'm not typically a very political person. Most of the time, when it comes to politics you'll find me barracking for more bi-partisan support. The great issues we face - environmental degradation, social and economic inequality, and war and regional instability - I believe are far too complex to be spoken about in the black and white terms of political ideology. So I consciously choose to be politically neutral.
However, the increasingly heated debate around same-sex marriage in Australia is one area that I do have a strong opinion on. If you're wondering, my answer on the upcoming 'postal survey' will be 'yes'. For me, this is purely and simply a question of equality. To genuinely stand for equality, this means advocating for the equal opportunities for all individuals across all things.
My experiences in London in many ways have shaped the veracity in which I speak on this issue. I have previously written about the wonderful sense of diversity in London, but another element of this is the way in which London embraces and elevates the concept of LGBT+ equality beyond anything I have ever experienced in Australia. This city has taught me the importance of publicly expressing pride - both as an individual, but also the important role of industry in backing this issue.
The experience that really opened my eyes to this was the Pride in London Parade.
London Pride provides a platform for London’s LGBT+ community to raise awareness of LGBT+ issues and campaign for the freedoms that will allow them to live their lives on a genuinely equal footing.
Photo credit: Joël Thai
On my second evening in London I was invited to parade with a group of people I had just met - colleagues from the London office of AECOM. I thought it was pretty cool that AECOM London had provided sponsorship so that my LGBT+ colleagues and their friends were able to be part of the parade event. I was excited by the novelty of being part of the parade, and didn't think much further about it than that...until I turned up on the day. You see, we weren't alone.
Walking through the assembly area of the parade, I was amazed to see groups of people wearing t-shirts with very familiar logos - Arup, Arcadis, Atkins, Balfour Beatty, Laing O'Rourke, Kier, Lend Lease, Mott McDonald, Skanska and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, just to name a few. There were also representatives from the local housing associations - Clarion, L&Q, Genesis, Hanover, Metropolitan, Notting Hill Housing, Peabody, and Swan Housing.
My excitement at the novelty of being part of the parade, turned into immense pride that I was standing alongside others in the urban development industry in support of our own LGBT+ community.
I can't quite describe it, but there is something special about seeing major companies across all industries publicly support a movement such as this. Businesses are a major voice in the community, and being part of events such as London Pride is a public statement on the values we stand for. We should be part of the conversation. Just as we have started to do for gender diversity, maybe we need to start thinking about publicly vocalising our support for other equality causes that affect our industry - including racial diversity and LGBT+ rights.
There are countless studies and articles that highlight the benefits of fostering diversity to business, and to securing the vibrancy of our cities. However, when statistics show that that over 40 percent of LGBT+ people do not feel comfortable expressing their sexual orientation at work out of fear of repercussions, and only 66.7 percent of LGBT+ employees feel confident that their immediate manager would address homophobia in their work team, we need to stop and think as to whether we are genuinely doing enough to cultivate true equality and diversity.
If our counterparts here in London can publicly come out in support of LGBT+ rights, then why can't our industry leaders in Australia do likewise?
#BuildingEquality
X Katrie
Photo credit: Banner - Joël Thai