Travis Perkins plc, which is the UK’s largest supplier of building materials and owner of the Travis Perkins builders’ merchants, Toolstation and many specialist trade businesses, is celebrating Pride across the Group. More specifically, colleagues will be using Pride in June to educate themselves on what it means to become good allies to lesbian, gay, bi, trans and questioning (LGBTQ+) people and colleagues.

This celebration is integral to the Group’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy – You Be You, It Makes Us Us – to help build a more diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, feeling that they belong and are comfortable to be themselves. As part of this, the company aims to ensure that everyone knows what it means to be an LGBTQ+ ally, and why it is an important part of creating an environment where LGBTQ+ colleagues and customers can feel safe and comfortable about who they are in and out of the workplace.

During Pride, colleagues will be invited to embrace the celebrations through active participation in a raft of activities, ranging from allyship education training to reverse mentoring and local leadership team discussions. Those who feel comfortable will also be encouraged to add their pronouns to their email signatures, wear rainbow laces as part of their uniform in branches and stores nationwide, and dress brightly on Fridays throughout the month to show their support.

“Being an ally is about showing support for, and solidarity with, our colleagues from the LGBTQ+ community, and celebrating the diversity of our fantastic business. It requires a curiosity about our colleagues, a desire to educate ourselves, and sometimes, the willingness to step in and stand up to others. An ally shouldn’t be prepared to leave unacceptable behaviour unchallenged. Fostering a work environment where our colleagues can be themselves without fear of discrimination and to feel included and supported is essential to enabling them to be happy and productive. 

“We’ll be a better place to work and better able to understand and serve our customers’ needs if our business genuinely reflects the diversity of our society and our customer base. Visibly celebrating and respecting difference is a key part of allyship. It helps us to attract the best people to work with us irrespective of social or ethnic background, gender, sexuality, disability or any other individual characteristics and makes us a stronger, better business,” explained General Counsel & Company Secretary for Travis Perkins plc and a sponsor for the Group’s LGBTQ+ network, Robin Miller.

Acording to Stonewall, more than a third are known to hide that they are LGBTQ+ at work for fear of discrimination. Colleagues at Travis Perkins Group hope that through being brilliant allies, they can support LGBTQ+ colleagues and ensure they feel safe and comfortable about who they are, and eliminate any unfair treatment of them.