Happy Pride Month!
This is a key month for the LGBT+ community as people come together in friendship and support in recognition that we should all feel happy to be ourselves no matter who we choose to love.
Pride Month is an opportunity for us all to reflect on how we can be even more authentic and genuine in our professional and our personal lives, and to share as much of ourselves as possible with the world.
As the new Champion for the Pride Alliance Business Resource Group, I am excited to be supporting our activities and events for Pride 2021. I’ve taken on similar roles in the past in both Aviva and TSB and recognise the vital role that an exec sponsor can play to help drive a truly inclusive culture and am looking forward to doing even more with the brilliant team at Boots.
As a health and wellbeing retailer and pharmacy-led business, Boots is a long-standing champion of everyone’s right to lead happier and healthier lives and we are proud to continue this legacy by championing the rights of the LGBT+ community in meaningful ways.
Through our partnership with The Hygiene Bank, Boots UK provides essential toiletries and hygiene products to those who are living in hygiene poverty. There are many reasons people find themselves in hygiene poverty such as domestic abuse, homelessness and many more social and economic factors. People in the LGBT community are more at risk of experiencing hygiene poverty than non-LGBT people. More than one in ten LGBT people have faced domestic abuse from a partner in the last year and almost one in five LGBT people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.
For Pride Awareness month, to support the communities across the UK that are experiencing hygiene poverty, we will double our donations to The Hygiene Bank. This means that for every 1KG of products our customers donate to The Hygiene Bank in a Boots store, we will donate 8 products.
Additionally, throughout June, we’ll be running a series of events for Boots’ team members highlighting the work we’re already doing to support the LGBT+ community and how they can become more involved as an ally – a key role in championing everyone’s right to feel good regardless of who they choose to love. This work is being driven by our brilliant Pride Alliance Business Resource Group, which is now in its 15th year.
So, lets enjoy this important month of celebrations and looking forwards, it’s important that we continue to work together to ensure we help support and champion all that it takes to have a truly inclusive culture both in and outside the places we work.
Pete Markey - Chief Marketing Officer, Boots UK