Prism, Parades, Pies: Pride 2022 in Review

Although we’re committed to amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices and creating a company where LGBTQIA+ people can truly “bring their whole self to work” all year round, June’s Pride Month celebrations remain a highlight of the Jacobs calendar – and 2022 was no different, as Jacobs teams returned to celebrate in-person for the first time since 2019.

In Denver, Colorado, a joint team of around 65 employees from Jacobs and our partners PA Consulting took part in a weekend of celebrations including the Denver Pride Parade, a recruitment booth at Denver Pridefest, and a 5K charity race that raised over $1,000 for The Center on Colfax, the largest LGBTQ community center in the Rocky Mountain region.

Members of Prism, our global employee network for LGBTQIA+ people and allies, also marched in Portland, Oregon and in London, England, with further U.K. marches planned in the next two months for U.K. Trans Pride, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham as well as U.K. Black Pride.

Our in-person Pride celebrations were matched by a month of virtual celebrations that brought together employees from across the globe, with over 20 diverse events taking place ranging from educational sessions on supporting LGBTQIA+ youth, recruiting trans employees and mentoring to social events like our “Pets with Pride” art show, a Queer comedy hour and a drag queen story time event.  

A clear highlight of this year’s event was our global “Pie for Pride” charity fundraiser, where employees were challenged to raise funds for employee-nominated LGBTQIA+ charities in our major geographies.

A group of our executives reluctantly agreed to each receive a cream pie in the face if certain fundraising targets were reached, with our President and Chief Operating Officer, Bob Pragada, representing the top tier goal. It’s hard to determine whether our people were motivated more by the desire to support a good cause or to publicly humiliate their leaders, but in the end 190 members of our team raised over $14,000, and all of the executives dutifully received their just desserts as a result.

Pride is just one example of the ongoing work we’re doing to make Jacobs a company where people of all backgrounds and identities can truly thrive, a commitment that’s reflected in the fact that we’ve been named a Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality by Human Rights Campaign, earning a top score of 100 for four consecutive years. Our recent ranking of #6 in Stonewall’s Top 100 U.K. Employers (#1 in their “Construction and Engineering” category) and the three consecutive “bronze” awards from the Australian Workplace Equality Index that we’ve earned also demonstrate the considerable progress we are making across the business to ensure that we truly “walk the talk” on LGBTQI+ empowerment, not only in Pride month but 365 days a year.

While achievements like this speak volumes about the inclusion journey that Jacobs is on, the recent increase in anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in the United States and other countries – and the accompanying rise in global homophobic and transphobic activity – reminds us of the obstacles to equality that the LGBTQIA+ community still faces in 2022.

Pride Month this year has not only been a celebration, but also serves to galvanize our commitment to meeting the challenges ahead and creating a better world for our employees, our clients and the communities we serve.

Explore more about our award-winning approach to inclusion on jacobs.com.