BNY Mellon marks Pride Month

Pride is the time that the LGBTQ+ community pauses to celebrate its identity. 

Originally set up to commemorate the Stonewall riots of 1969, Pride is now marked globally. I hope that, by splashing rainbow colours everywhere and generating outrageous levels of noise, it signals loud and clear to LGBTQ+ people everywhere that they are part of a diverse and vibrant community that will always welcome them. This is important, especially for young people and those living in isolated areas or less tolerant countries. 

I lived in Sydney for a year in my late 20s and will never forget the Sydney Mardi Gras. I had naively thought that St. Patrick's Day marches were pretty much as good as these parades get, but Mardi Gras quickly proved me wrong. From the first thunderous roar of the legendary lesbians on their motorcycles (see here), the parade was a riot of colour, floats and dancing, with loads of Aussie humour throughout. The parade itself was also just the centrepiece, the Mardi Gras included numerous cultural events and one almighty post-parade party. For me, it brought home what Pride was, what the community meant and how well it fitted into broader society.   

 

 

Of course, LGBTQ+ people will always be a minority and, depending on the location, the degree to which we can live as our authentic selves will differ. Even in broadly tolerant cities like New York or London, for many people in religious or conservative communities, living openly must be daunting and may require hard sacrifices to be made. Sadly, the threat of hate crime has not gone away either (see here). In Ireland, two gay men were murdered in April 2022 in terrible homophobic attacks (see here). That is why a supportive LGBTQ+ community with allies is so powerful. There is strength in unity and collaboration.

One of the best things about working at BNY Mellon is being part of PRISM. PRISM is our employee resource group that promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion. Being active in PRISM is also a fantastic way to make friends and increase your network throughout the organisation. PRISM organises its own events and also gives access to events organised by our industry peers and clients. A key element of PRISM’s strategic priorities is to strengthen LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace. Therefore every year PRISM organises training to build allyship, and so, wherever you are in the bank, you will see a visible demonstration of the PRISM community (both LGBTQ+ employees and allies) around you. 

 

 

Last year, PRISM’s global marquee event for Pride ("Creating an LGBTQ+ Family") was a discussion about the development of the modern family, the evolving needs of the LGBTQ+ family and the support they need. I am proud to say that all non-birthing parents at BNY Mellon (including LGBTQ+ parents) are fully supported by the enhanced and inclusive Parental Leave policy. This policy, which is available regardless of gender or circumstances (including adoption, foster and surrogacy) provides extended paid leave (16 weeks full salary pay) to all parents as they welcome a child into their lives to help balance childcare responsibilities and set the standard as a leading employer. This is a very valuable policy and contributes in a practical way to making BNY Mellon a fully supportive and inclusive place to work.

Written by Ronan Kelly, BNY Mellon

 

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