Undeterred by the lockdown, staff at Tideway are celebrating this year’s Pride in London from home.

In previous years, we’ve joined hundreds of thousands of people in the annual parade through the heart of the city to celebrate diversity of all kinds.

This year, for obvious reasons, that’s not possible­ – but that isn’t stopping us getting dressed up and thinking about what Pride means to us.

Adam Smith, Creative Lead and chair of Tideway’s LGBT Committee, said: “Pride is a time for all LGBTQ people and their allies to come together and celebrate diversity.

“Though we acknowledge the progress that has been made over the years, there is still more that needs to be done.

“Research shows that that more than half of LGBTQ individuals in the construction industry do not feel comfortable being open about their sexuality or gender identity on construction sites.

“This statistic is improving all the time, but it shows there is still much more work to do.

“It is currently a difficult time for black LGBTQ people, but also for the trans community, whose right to be who they are is currently being challenged by the planned scrapping of the Gender Recognition Act reform.”

Earlier this year, Tideway was shortlisted as one of the ‘Top 10 Inclusive Companies’ by The British LGBT Awards.

So to celebrate this year’s Pride in London, we asked members of the Tideway team to share what makes them proud as well as their favourite memory from the recent Pride parades. 

Steve Hails, executive sponsor of the LGBT Encompass Network and Director of Business Services & HSW, added: “We’ve always made a big effort to involve ourselves in the Pride in London parade and believe in celebrating diversity of all kinds.

“This year, though we can’t be there on the ground, this short film shows we’re still getting in the spirit of Pride.

“Our LGBT Encompass network has also provided Tideway staff with a playlist of movies, TV shows and music to celebrate at home over the weekend, to help educate, inform and entertain while we are unable to celebrate in public.”