Marching with Pride in London: another step on The King’s Fund’s journey of inclusion

On Saturday 2 July 2022 The King’s Fund made history by marching in the Pride in London parade for the very first time. I can’t quite find the words to do justice to the day. The air was electric, somehow alive, pulsing with excitement like one big heartbeat.

Weeks have passed and I am still thinking about how it felt to be surrounded by colleagues and loved ones, in an explosion of light, sound and colour. The reverb of ‘It’s The King’s Fund’ as we were announced by fabulous drag queens at numerous points along the route still echoes in my ears. This year’s theme was #AllOurPride, and as I looked around, I could see it, I could feel it. We were surrounded by all our pride. If I could bottle that feeling, that atmosphere, I’d be a millionaire. I can’t wait to do it again!

'Our aim is to build an environment where people are free to bring as much of their identity as they choose to work, and where that authentic self is embraced, valued and can thrive.'

I’ll be honest, when we put the application in for the parade we were hopeful, but not expectant. It seemed like a long shot. So, when we got the news that we were included, we were so excited. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and it seemed especially significant that it happened during the year of our 125th anniversary.

Colleagues in our now thriving LGBTQ+ network tell me about a time in the not so distant past where there was an air of uncertainty around being out and proud at the Fund. While no one was saying that it wasn’t okay to be queer, being a member of the LGBTQ+ community still felt taboo. A lack of openness around the topic and celebration of identity, resulted in an air of mystique that made some people wonder if it was better to subsist in silence, with no-one asking – or telling.

That’s not the experience we want people to have at the Fund. Our aim is to build an environment where people are free to bring as much of their identity as they choose to work, and where that authentic self is embraced, valued and can thrive. When people feel the need to mask their partner’s pronouns, or they have to take great pains to keep their personal life outside of work, or they worry that the truth of who they are might have ramifications for career progression and future prospects, they cannot feel like they truly belong. Imagine never being able to truly relax and be yourself in a space where you spend the majority of your time.

Things started changing when our Chief Executive, Richard Murray, openly shared his lived experiences of being a gay man and our LGBTQ+ employee network was established. But even so, there is still work to be done, and we continue to engage joyfully in that work.

I don’t want to paint a picture of perfection at the Fund and make you think we have it all figured out, because we don’t. As a new joiner it took me months to come out as bisexual at work, especially since I am now in a heterosexual relationship and with the addition of children am very much straight-passing. When I joined the Fund, everyone assumed something about my identity because of the way I presented, and it felt safer at the start not to correct those assumptions, even though the majority of my significant relationships before I met my husband have been with women. Who I was had been decided, and for some time there didn’t seem to be space or safety to adjust that narrative. I continue to reflect on the reasons for that and on the changes we can make as an organisation to make people feel safer and more comfortable to be their true selves at work from the outset.

'I don’t want to paint a picture of perfection at the Fund and make you think we have it all figured out, because we don’t.'

We also continue to hold ourselves accountable in the work. In 2021 we completed the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) for the second time. The WEI is a robust measure of organisations’ achievements and progress on LGBTQ+ equality. It requires us to demonstrate and provide evidence for our performance and work across eight areas of employment policy and practice for assessment by the team at Stonewall.

In our very first WEI submission we were assessed in the bottom quartile, but instead of discouraging us, it motivated us to make changes and be and do better. We were challenged to move beyond rainbow lanyards (although let’s be honest, those are pretty cool and make a bold statement) and started doing some of the more difficult, less visible work like updating our policies for inclusive language alongside promoting visibility and education across the team.

When the results of Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index (WEI) were announced in 2022, we were pleased and proud to have won a Bronze Employer Award. It was evidence of the hard work that had gone in to making the Fund a more inclusive space and our progression towards that goal. While we are still celebrating, we are also looking ahead to this year’s submission and the ones that follow, alongside the work we can and will do to make progress on our journey of inclusion. We look forward to being able to share more about the things we are doing in our space that shift the dial and bring about true and lasting cultural change. With any luck you’ll see us at Pride in London in 2023.