At Apex, we put our people first and we’re committed to advocating equality and inclusivity for our teams.
Our People Business Partner, Ben Edwards, is in a good position to discuss Pride. Ben is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and works with the wider teams to ensure inclusivity across the business.
“At Apex, our culture is ‘Be Yourself Here’ which, to me, means being your authentic self. There is no judgement, and I am free to be myself which is important for anyone to thrive at work,” he says.
“We recently invited trans awareness trainer, Dr Kit Heyam, to give a talk to our people and culture division. Dr Kit draws on their own expertise in trans awareness and their interactive workshop was invaluable and just one of the ways we are helping to create a fully inclusive environment for the whole team. Outside of Apex, I am a member of Proud HR and I will be marching at London Pride with them. It’s a group that does a lot of outreach work and Apex are very supportive of my involvement.”
“For me, Pride is a safe space for everyone to be themselves and relax without feeling tense or feeling like they’re being judged. I believe that it’s evolving into something more than just for those in the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s for everyone, regardless of who you are. It’s a nice time.”
A newer member of our team and another member of the LGBTQIA+ community is Digital Marketing Specialist, Fraser Moodie. Fraser is passionate about Pride and what it means to him.
“Pride for me is about celebrating equality," he says, “We, as members of the LGBTQIA+ community stand on the shoulders of great people who fought for our right of equality, the right to exist without fear of holding our partner’s hand down the street or persecution of who we were born to be.
We have come so far but there is still so much work to be done, especially in some parts of the world. We must never become complacent about that. Pride exists not to celebrate the community, but exists for us to give a voice to the voiceless, to stand up and to fight for an equal world, a word of tolerance. I’m lucky that I work in a place where I can be completely comfortable about who I am.”
At Apex Hotels, Pride is recognised and celebrated all year round and we’re constantly learning to ensure that we’re a fully inclusive, safe place to work and thrive for all.