Celebrating Jacobs Pride 2021

June is one of the highlights in #OurJacobs calendar. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the progress we’ve made, amplify the voices of our incredible LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) family, and reaffirm our commitment to making Jacobs a place where all LGBTQIA+ people can thrive.

As ever, this year’s celebrations were led by members of Prism, our over 1,500-strong employee network for LGBTQIA+ people and their allies. Although many of the usual Pride in-person events were limited due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, our global team worked their socks off to make 2021 the biggest, most colorful, inclusive Jacobs Pride in history.

What a month it’s been! Celebrations kicked off with a video from our President and Chief Operating Officer, Bob Pragada, who shared his commitment to our LGBTQIA+ staff and joined members of our Prism team in a short, upbeat video message.

Giving Back to Our Community

Our Dallas Prism chapter took time to volunteer with Resource Center, one of the largest LGBTQIA+ community centers in the United States. Team members - including Executive Vice President Marietta Hannigan and Senior Vice President Eric Walter - worked to prepare hot meals and groceries for disadvantaged members of the local community with HIV. This is the second time Jacobs has volunteered at the Center –now their volunteering program has reopened, we intend to come back on a regular basis throughout the year.  

In Colorado, we continued our 17-year relationship with Denver Pride, taking part in their virtual parade. Our local Prism and Buildings & Infrastructure teams also sponsored and took part in the Denver Pride 5K run – their 24-strong “Running Proud with Jacobs” team put in an impressive performance in great running conditions.

Jacobs employees also took time to support causes near to their hearts. Prism’s global Pride fundraising drive raised over USD $4,300 for six vital LGBTQIA+ charities, each selected by our local leaders: Albert Kennedy Trust (U.K.), Egale (Canada), Kampania Przeciw Homofobii (Poland), Love Yourself (Philippines), The Pinnacle Foundation (Australia), and The Trevor Project (U.S.A.)

Our leaders in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto also literally stuck their necks out for Pride – and got a pie in the face for their trouble, raising almost CAD $4,400 for Canadian LGBTQIA+ charities in the process!

Digital Pride – a Non-Stop Global Event

The biggest event of the month was our Digital Pride celebration on Thursday June 24, a 17 hour-long online experience starting in New Zealand before moving through Australia, the Philippines, Poland, the U.K., Canada and ending the U.S. Although led by our Prism network, representatives from all eight employee networks took part in the schedule, which featured discussion panels with LGBTQIA+ leaders and sessions on Black, Latinx and veteran perspectives – as well as more informal events like a drag queen children’s story hour, a Microsoft Teams speed mixer and a fancy dress house party.

Award-Winning Culture

Finally, there was added cause for celebration in June as we earned our second consecutive “bronze” status in the Australian Workplace Equality Index, the definitive national benchmark on LGBTQ workplace inclusion. We scored 131/200 in the index, showing remarkable progress from our 2020 score of 104 and our 2019 score of 77. This was great news – and builds on the success of earning a perfect 100% score in HRC’s LGBT+ Corporate Equality Index for the third year running.

Although Pride month is over, the work continues year-round to support and advance the rights of our global LGBTQIA+ family and we can’t wait for what’s next.