Pride 2021 at Version 1
Celebrating our differences and what we have in common at Version 1!
Pride - A Key Version 1 Celebration
As part of our 2021 Diversity in Business Strategy, Pride, throughout the month of June, was identified as a key Version 1 celebration. We have made strong progress in recent years in developing Version 1 as a Diverse and Inclusive workplace, but we suspect that our LGBTQ+ Employees are either underrepresented or not comfortable coming out in the workplace. Therefore, a key objective of Pride at Version 1 is to highlight being proud and open of your differences!
Our focus is primarily on giving our Employees an educational and fun experience for Pride 2021, and to demonstrate what being LGBTQ+ is all about at Version 1.
By promoting and celebrating Pride at Version 1 we hope to:
- Foster a sense of Belonging for our LGBTQ+ Community
- Showcase and celebrate our diverse talent
- Promote awareness and equality within Version 1
- Increase understanding of the issues faced by those in the LGBTQ+ community
Discover some of our celebrations and activities for Pride 2021:
LGBT 101 & Allyship Workshop
As part of this workshop, Our guest speaker, Chloë Davies hosted an informative and safe session that looked through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community whilst discussing the definition of allyship and inclusion in the workplace.
Chloë gave us seven tips on being an LGBTQ+ ally:
• Be open to learn, listen and educate yourself
• Check your privilege
• Don’t assume
• To be an ally is not to be passive or performative
• Confront your own prejudices and unconscious bias
• Know that language matters
• Know that you wont always get it right and that’s ok
Pride Anthems Bingo - Hosted by Drag Queen Victoria Secret
We celebrated Pride in style with virtual ‘Pride Anthems Bingo’, hosted by Drag Queen Victoria Secret. This was no regular bingo as we were virtually brought to the clubs from the comfort of our own homes!
Magic & Mind Reading
Magician Chris Fleming provided us with a Pride themed magic and mind reading show. We came together to celebrate the magic of Pride with a thrilling interactive session designed to astound and amaze that left most attendees in a state of shock and awe!
Pride Photo
The rainbow flag has long been a symbol of solidarity, inclusion, and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community and its rainbow-coloured stripes a representation of hope and the diversity among its members, and while we use this flag to celebrate Pride and the LGBTQ+ community, it is also a symbol of our commitment to promote and protect inclusivity and diversity at Version 1.
Thanks to our 65+ colleagues who submitted selfies across every colour of the rainbow to kick off our Pride celebrations.
About Version 1's Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Team
The Mission of Version 1’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIBs) team is to create a diverse workplace where our differences are accepted, and we feel that we belong. A key focus area recently has been around belonging.
Diversity is difference and difference is difficult. Many people worry whether they fit in at a new place but belonging unifies people. While we will continue to celebrate key events like Diwali and International Men’s/Women’s Day, we want to go deeper and have a bigger impact at Version 1 – focusing on belonging benefits for all.
When organizations succeed in creating a culture of belonging, the upsides are enormous — higher employee engagement scores, an enhanced talent brand, lower attrition, fewer sick days, improved productivity, better communication, and teams that fire on all cylinders in terms of innovation and collaboration.
Our DIBs Motto:
The Motto of our DIBs Team is: “Bring Your Difference“. This was inspired by our very own people. Driving innovation in all areas of a customer’s business on a daily basis is something that Version 1 people have always been known for. Every day, we are amazed at the level of innovation and commitment to problem-solving displayed by our consultants across hundreds of customer sites and projects. The range and capability of technology today is truly amazing but without our great people, nothing would happen. They bring their differences together to make differences for all.
