As the dust settles on the biggest Pride ever, we reflect on Jacobs’ global celebrations and on the progress still to be made for the LGBTI+ community.
For members of the LGBTI+ community, Pride is far more than just a parade. With 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn’s explosive cry for equal rights, the values that Pride stands for – freedom, empowerment, respect, solidarity and remembrance – are more important now than ever.
It was fitting, then, that New York’s World Pride attracted a record 2.5 million revelers to a city synonymous with the nascent Gay Pride movement, that scores of record-breaking Pride events took place across the world, and finally that Jacobs would have its biggest and largest-supported Pride season in history.
Pride season began in earnest with an all-staff video message from our Chair & CEO Steve Demetriou wishing our LGBTI+ staff a Happy Pride and encouraging participation in local events, and from then on our staff saw an explosion of celebration, advocacy and positivity in offices across the globe.
In New York, NY our staff held a charity fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center, which protects LGBTI youth from the harms of homelessness. Our Winnersh, UK office hosted a ‘lunch & learn’ about the History of Pride. Our Sydney, Australia office celebrated by running a series of company-wide live webinars entitled “How to be a Good LGBTI+ Ally” in conjunction with our industry partner Pride in Diversity. In the UK, we partnered with other engineering and construction companies to represent Building Equality and InterEngineering.
This activism was matched by involvement in several Pride marches in the USA and UK. As a major sponsor of Pride in our hometown of Dallas, TX, over 60 of our staff marched alongside our Executive Leadership Team and our fabulous Jacobs float - which then made the trip to Denver, CO where Jacobs celebrated with over 525,000 revelers in the Mile-High City.
Along with Dallas and Denver, team members also marched at Pride in London, Boston, Toronto and Brisbane, with marches in the UK and Australasia to follow later in the year, rounding off a spectacular Pride season that began with Jacobs receiving top honors on the HRC’s 2019 Corporate Equality Index, making us a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality”.
With multiple events, volunteering opportunities and celebrations planned in the next few months, it’s evident that Pride is a year-round commitment for us: our growing LGBTI+ employee network Prism has members across the globe, making Jacobs a place where you can truly “bring your whole self to work”.
Click here to join our growing team.
