Diversity Cherice Thomas, associate director, programme manager. F


or me, coming out was a long journey from my late teens through to my mid-twenties. I navigated a number of challenges along the


way, not just in professional environments but in my personal life, too. While I’m proud of my Caribbean culture, and


it is something that I love being a part of, it wasn’t always open minded about people’s sexualities. A complex history of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region and a strict code of religious beliefs introduced during the colonial era promoted heteronormativity, and that made me scared to come out. I feared that I wouldn’t be accepted within my


community, that I would lose the family and friends I rely on day to day. Although I lost touch with some people along the way, I was blessed with a deep well of support from those that I loved the most. Today, my Caribbean community and the culture more broadly


have come a long way in understanding and accepting LGBTQ+ identities. Many small shiſts in thinking have helped attitudes progress, and among them the willingness of businesses to recognise people’s unique experiences and make space for people to bring their whole selves to work. One of the things I love the most about working at Kyndryl are the


Kyndryl Inclusion Networks (KIN). Tese groups are employee-led resources for people with shared identities like gender, race, sexual orientation, and disability. KINs are sponsored by Kyndryl at the global enterprise level, with country-level chapters so that everyone who works here has the opportunity to participate in the creation of a more inclusive environment. For me, having endorsement from the highest level of the business


through to the individual feels really empowering. I think that the KIN groups and similar networks are an initiative that we need to make the case for as powerfully and persuasively as ever. I volunteer


for three KINs, working with the Race & Ethnicity KIN core team, as well as participating in the LGBTQ+ group and the Women’s KIN. I find a meaningful recognition of my own experiences across all of these groups, and they provide the opportunity for me to support others, which I find really rewarding. We’ve made strides in the right direction, but


there are still far too many places in the world where pursuing a same-sex relationship can result in persecution, imprisonment, or even death. Te reality is that bigotry is not a creature of the past, but a threat in the present. We should be proud of the rights won, while being mindful


that a status quo of equal rights is much easier to destroy than it is to build. We only have to look to recent news in the US to see evidence of


this; federal contractors using religious exemptions to fire LGBTQ+ employees; trans people barred from serving in the military; growing censorship of inclusive educational resources; legislation acting against women’s rights to their own bodies and more. It may be hard to imagine such things taking place here in the UK, but we mustn’t be complacent. Tere was a time where I couldn’t have imagined being where I


am now. My career is a perfect fit for me, but in my youth it’s not something I would have ever imagined for myself, and that’s because it took a long time for me to see anyone in a similar role who reflected my culture and values. Role-modelling career possibilities to a diverse group of people


opens the door to a wealth of talent that businesses would be missing out on without initiatives like KIN. It’s important to note that these initiatives are also a social stance. Tey’re a way of showing up as an ally and shunning prejudice, and for me, that’s something to be proud of.


www.pcr-online.biz


September/October 2024 | 23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52