Pride Month is an incredibly important event as it recognises all the progress that has been made throughout the decades of the LGBTQ+ movement.
It also recognises the work still left to do.
To commemorate 50 years since the first Pride event in the UK, the EnterPRIDE committee hosted 'Pride Day' at its European corporate head office in Egham. It was officially opened with an energetic statement from Ryan Johnston, Vice President for UK & Ireland. His message was clear, it doesn’t matter your sexual orientation or gender identity, if you have the ambition and the drive, you can climb the Enterprise ladder.
Samantha Meredith, Employer Brand Marketing Manager, delivered a passionate update on Enterprise's partnership with Stonewall, announcing that Enterprise had climbed from #74 to #54 in the Stonewall Employer Index. This is a fantastic achievement which highlighted opportunities for progression for employees across all levels of the business.
I co-hosted a much anticipated panel discussion alongside fellow EnterPRIDE committee member Steven Connell (National Remarketing Manager). The panel was made up of Josh Buehling (Enterprise CarClub Marketing Specialist), Natalie Downing (Branch Manager), Tommy King (Branch Manager), Paul McCorkell (Assistant Vice President, Business Rental UK & Ireland) and Natasha Wright (Senior Collections Co-Ordinator).
Josh is a prime example of climbing a “career lattice” with an impressive start in our rental operations before making the transition into the Enterprise Car Club marketing team. This shows that you can have multiple careers with Enterprise, and that sexuality does not hold you back in the business. Josh is also working on a project to build profiles for out and proud Enterprise employees to make the LGBTQ+ community within Enterprise more visible and allow for mentorship within the business.
Tommy spoke passionately about how he and Natalie had revitalised Group North West EnterPRIDE committee through multiple Pride events that they will be supporting this year. The North West Group recently raised £1,500 in one month for the LGBT Foundation, which operates a wide variety of services to the LGBTQ+ community, including support for domestic abuse and sexual health testing.
Natalie gave insight into what events like this Pride Day mean for the LGBTQ+ community within Enterprise as it shows that our company welcomes this community, celebrates diversity and contributes towards making real change by promoting equity.
Paul shared a personal insight on how far the business has come since he joined Enterprise over 20 years ago. Paul is a great role model and a point of visible representation for the LGBTQ+ community with senior levels of management. As Co-Chair of EnterPRIDE, Paul is incredibly committed to driving positive change to ensure Enterprise continues to move up the Stonewall Employer Index.
Natasha spoke bravely about her experience of loneliness when she was afraid of being 'outed'. Natasha highlighted the importance of being open and seeking mental health support where needed and which she was able to find through support of her co-workers and allies as well as the Employee Assistance Programme, which is available to all employees.
Allyship is an important part of Pride. My co-host for the event, Steven Connell, joined the EnterPRIDE committee as an ally. This has enabled him to learn about the issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community in society more widely. Leigh Lafever-Ayer (UK Human Resources Director) shared her own experience of being an ally and gave advice on the importance of finding out about where someone is within their journey and the importance of not outing someone before they are ready.
I spoke of my mentors and role models within the business, who recently helped me overcome imposter syndrome while applying for a new role and reminded me that masculinity is never on the job description and that Enterprise encourages individuality and diversity throughout the business.
Khaled Shahbo, Senior Vice President for Europe, donned a rainbow tie and socks, and closed the event with a personal speech showing kindness and understanding talking about this case as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
