IP Out committee member Kevin Rich (Potter Clarkson) has kindly permitted us to re-publish a post he wrote for the start of LGBT+ History Month. The original is on LinkedIn here. It’s a brief personal reflection on progress towards LGBT+ inclusion, which we hope you find encouraging; please do add your own thoughts below.
Kevin writes:
I’m currently amidst plans for a wedding with my better half, which made to delve into the differences between same-sex marriage and civil partnerships. One aspect that felt pertinent to me was international recognition of one over the other. As the world begins to open up again, will my future husband and I find more equal ground married or partnered? Considering there have been times in my life where I wasn’t sure either option would be available to me, there is a definite bright side to the fact that I have to dither over such a decision now. Unfortunately, I lost the will to continue with much of the research after seeing how far we still have to go, losing faith in a portion of humanity.
I am thankful then that some faith has returned after reading this short article [about LGBTQ+ Workplace Equality], particularly the part that says “A record-breaking 842 businesses earned 100 percent on the 2022 Corporate Equality Index and the designation of being one of the ‘Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality’,” – an uplift from only 13 companies 20 years ago. Congratulations to all those companies who attained such a wonderful accolade, and to all those still working towards improving the situation for diversity and inclusivity. It may not seem like a big deal to all, but it certainly means a lot to me.