A message from Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer, Exec Champion for Pride and sponsor of the Boots Pride Alliance Business Resource Group

June is a month of global celebrations for Pride and for the LGBTQ+ community – it’s a month to march with our rainbow flags and celebrate the diversity and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride is also an opportunity to reflect on the importance of taking a year-round approach to supporting LGBTQ+ Equity and Inclusion.

Boots is a long-standing champion of everyone’s right to lead happier and healthier lives – and this is a legacy that we continue though championing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in meaningful ways. So, I wanted to share an update on some of the very tangible things that Boots and our team members have been doing to support our LGBTQ+ customers and team members:

We stand for equity in LGBTQ+ career progression for everyone in the community

• We have been focussed on role modelling LGBTQ+ leadership. This year we held an Out Leaders Panel event, and other senior role model talks. We’re also working on easier ways for team members to share pronouns, including on name badges as well as encouraging staff to include these in their email signatures​
• Our brilliant Business Resource Group, established in 2019, has also been working to raise awareness, breaking down stereotypes and building confidence on LGBTQ+ issues in our business such as coming out, LGBTQ+ History Month resources and highlighting dates on the LGBTQ+ calendar such as Trans Day of Visibility
• We have a commitment to Stonewall Global Diversity Champions programme and annual benchmarking to understand our progress and opportunities to develop LGBTQ+ inclusion approach​

We celebrate LGBTQ+ excellence through our brands and platforms

• We have focussed on LGBTQ+ acceptance through our brands, hiring LGBTQ+ models for No7 campaigns, and our brand 17 is marketed as being for all genders
• We’re continuing our work to provide a gender-neutral shopping experience for customers buying glasses from Boots Opticians​
• Through the Boots Online Doctor, we provide a HIV Home Test Kit Service, and HIV PrEP treatment
• Through our internal channels, we have also been actively storytelling on the themes of LGBTQ+ identities and inclusive language, parenting LGBTQ+ children/teens, and LGBTQ+ Leadership

We are working to advance LGBTQ+ Equality in the community, providing relevant resources

• In Nottingham, the home of the Boots brand, we will be one of the sponsors of the Nottinghamshire Pride Event again this year, with Boots team members supporting the march through the City Centre
• Throughout June, our Pride Alliance Business Resource Group will be running a series of events for Boots team members, highlighting the work that we are already doing to support the LGBT+ community

We are also encouraging allyship across all of our team members, as it’s important that we continue to work together to help support and champion one another. Often championing is all it takes to have a truly inclusive culture both in and outside of the places we work.

There is more that we can all be doing on this journey, and I look forward to continuing this very important work at Boots.

Pete