Celebrating 2023 Pride Month at Diageo

Celebrating 2023 Pride Month at Diageo

1 Jun 2023

At Diageo, we are determined to create an inclusive culture for all. We want to ensure that all employees can be their authentic selves at work, and celebrating Pride is a key enabler of this.

Respecting everyone’s differences is essential if we are committed to nurturing this inclusive culture. We want Diageo to be an attractive place for LGBTQIA+ talent to join and thrive, and this starts with celebrating the community as well as recognising the steps still required to ensure that acceptance is everywhere.

Throughout Pride month, activities at Diageo will once again be led by the Rainbow Networks around the world, our incredible Employee Resource Groups that ensure the talents and contributions of all Diageo LGBTQIA+ employees are respected, valued, and embraced. The networks passionately lead and support the company through a variety of engagements and partnerships, inspiring, educating, and driving greater understanding to our colleagues about the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I take pride in being one of the co-leads of the first-ever Rainbow Network in South-East Asia. Whether you are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, an ally, or just curious, the Network is a great way for employees to have an organized employee resource group that celebrates diversity, equality, and equity in the workplace. We hope to inspire our colleagues and provide a space where employees can play an active role in creating a truly inclusive society.”

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Shanahan Chua

Co-Chair of the Rainbow Network, Southeast Asia

A selection of celebrations coming up include:

  • This year will see 78 sites raise their Progress Pride flags, from Scotland to South Africa, Australia to Colombia.

  • Our Rainbow Networks will encourage engaging discussions across the globe, hosting awareness talks in Mexico, Panama, and Colombia in LAC, as well as a combined happy hour with the AHEAD (African Heritage Employees at Diageo) resource group in New York, to name a few.

  • The recently created Rainbow Network in Southeast Asia will host a variety of engagements across the region, including participating in the Bangkok Pride parade and hosting internal fireside chats in Thailand and the Philippines.

  • The UK's first LGBTQIA+ museum ‘Queer Britain’, which partnered with Diageo in May 2022, will host numerous London engagements over the coming months. This includes a 3-day Queer Market at Canopy Market in early June, as well as a Queer Summer Concert at Granary Square in August. For more information, visit Queer Britain's events page.

  • Our brands continue to support Diageo’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community. Smirnoff will continue it's tradition of sponsoring several Pride parades across the US, including a wrapped double-decker bus at Chicago Pride parade, with Johnnie Walker Princes Street being the headline sponsor of Pride Edinburgh, Scotland’s national LGBTQIA+ festival and the country's longest running free celebration of the LGBT+ community.

“I’m very proud of Diageo’s continued commitment to Pride, which is an essential part of our ambition to create the most inclusive and diverse culture. Through our company, brands, and events such as raising the flag, I want all members of the LGBTQIA+ community to feel visible, valued and supported by Diageo, throughout Pride and all year round.”

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Louise Prashad

Chief HR Officer

“I’m proud to work for a company where I feel empowered and can be my authentic self. It's so important to make sure that the LGBTQIA+ community feel safe and valued, so to spend every working day with such inclusive colleagues is inspiring. Celebrating life every day, everywhere should be for everyone, no matter who you are, where you work, who you love, or how you identify.”

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David Christmas

Chair of The Rainbow Network, 1HQ

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity

Diageo is committed to championing inclusion and diversity across everything we do. We have Gender Identity and Expression Guidelines live in over 30 countries, with our industry-leading parental leave policy also giving UK employees 26 weeks’ paid leave, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or whether they become parents biologically, via surrogacy, or adoption.

Our brands are leading advocates of Diageo’s inclusive culture, challenging stereotypes and championing diversity. Earlier this year, Baileys announced a three-year partnership with the Eurovision Song Contest, continuing its commitment to being a brand for all, with Johnnie Walker and Casamigos leading Diageo’s partnership with Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras 2023-24 and World Pride 2023. We also spotlight inspiring LGBTQIA+ people through our Progressive Marketing Framework, with J&B’s 2022 Christmas advert ‘She’ giving further visibility to the LGBTQIA+ community.

We’re proud of our commitment, but we know there is more to be done. We will keep learning and pushing for progress, and ensure this conversation continues beyond the month of June.

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