Creating a culture of allyship is vital to building an inclusive organisation; senior leaders have an important role to play.

If your social media news feeds are anything like ours, on 1st June, you’ll have seen a flurry of rainbow flags added to corporate pages, followed by a short post about celebrating with their LBGTQ+ colleagues.

Then, on June 2nd a possibly bigger flurry of posts from LGBTQ+ influencers and allies calling out said companies for using Pride Month for corporate gain, and for good reason - many feel that these companies only come out in support during June, returning to the status quo when the month is up.

Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ communities have been disproportionately affected by the current pandemic and recent research from the CIPD found 1 in 3 LGB+ employees feel they experience significant work-life conflict and 55% of trans employees saying they experienced workplace conflict in the last 12 months. The CIPD’s research goes on to show that in the majority of cases, these conflicts are never fully resolved.

So, aside from the rainbow logos, what are companies doing to make a difference?

Gradconsult's Candidate Engagement Manager, Annie, shares her experiences of being Queer in the workplace.