IHG® Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, is partnering with Pride in London, on what is its 50th year since the first Pride march in the UK.
Led by IHG’s employee network for its LGBTQ+ colleagues, Out & Open, the partnership specifically supports the milestone fundraising concert, Proud and Loud: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride, taking place at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 4 June. Showcasing iconic trailblazers from the LGBTQ+ community, the Proud and Loud concert will feature spectacular music performances, including Hayley Kiyoko and Calum Scott.
Pride in London’s 2022 campaign commemorates the evolution of the past 50 years and looks ahead to celebrating the next 50, while recognising the many challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community around the world. IHG’s Out & Open employee network is one way that the company provides its employees with a platform to participate in LGBTQ+ focused conversations and activities as well as opportunities to support their local LGBTQ+ community.
Stephen Quick and Peter Brennan, Co-Executive Sponsors, Out & Open Employee Network, IHG Hotels & Resorts, commented: “At IHG, our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a key pillar in our purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good, and we are proud to be sponsoring Pride in London for the first time. Our 325,000 colleagues represent the multiple beliefs, sexualities and backgrounds that make the world such a wonderful place and help us truly represent the communities we are present in. Our employee networks are at the beating heart of the inclusive culture we continuously strive towards and our sponsorship builds on our long running celebration of Pride Month around the world, which our LGBTQ+ employee network Out & Open sits at the heart of.”
Out & Open is one of nearly 30 employee network chapters at IHG, which are voluntary groups that provide platforms for its colleagues and promote workplace diversity across areas including sexuality, ethnic diversity, gender, disability, wellbeing, family and early careers.
Will De’Athe-Morris, Deputy Director of Communications for Pride in London, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with IHG as we mark the 50th anniversary since the first Pride in anniversary took place in the United Kingdom. The generous support directly supports our community: all donations received from Pride’s partnerships are reinvested directly back into community activities, including the Unity Fund, which supports LGBT+ grassroots organisations in London.”
One of IHG’s four strategic priorities as a company is to care for its people, communities and planet, supported by its 2030 responsible business plan, Journey to Tomorrow. This plan includes specific diversity, equity, and inclusion targets, which IHG will work to achieve over the next decade, supported by its people, programmes and policies.
These specific areas include how IHG can: Drive gender balance and a doubling of under-represented groups across leadership; Cultivate a culture of inclusion for colleagues, owners and suppliers; Support colleagues in prioritising their own wellbeing and that of others; Drive respect for and advance human rights.
