Leon's Story
This Pride month, we have been celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and our colleagues who help create diverse and welcoming environments across the Admiral Group.
Determined to take great pride in standing up for what’s right when it comes to equality, Leon became involved in Admiral’s LGBTQ+ Working Group and is a champion for promoting Pride.
“I have always been an active member of the LGBTQ+ community and over the years I have come to be a very strong believer in the phrase ‘people perform better when they can be themselves’. I was in awe of the work that Admiral’s Pride working group were doing and joined to try and make a real difference’’.
Leon has already had a profound effect in this area and tells us his story.
‘’In 2014 my husband and I had embarked on the journey of adoption. When it came to telling Admiral about this, I initially felt a little embarrassed. Looking back, it was silly to have even felt this way to begin with, as I could not have been met with more support from my manager and team. They were so happy for us and continued to support us throughout our journey to becoming parents.
Back in 2014, Admiral’s adoption policy didn’t include LGBTQ+ friendly phrases / sections in terms of being gender neutral and the type of leave and pay I was entitled to wasn’t very clear. When I asked about this, Admiral immediately reworded the adoption policy to reflect diverse family set-ups, which made it much easier for me and others to understand.
Within days Admiral changed the adoption policy to be more reflective of diverse family setups.
What was also amazing is that Admiral took advice from someone going through the process to ensure it was worded without offence, so I felt I was able to make a real difference for all staff regardless of their pathway to adoption.
When it came to bringing the boys home, Admiral actually took time to find out how old my children were and sent us a lovely package for them.
You can’t ask for a better supportive workplace and I am so proud to work for such a thoughtful and caring employer.’’
Leon tells us about the plans he has for the future as our LGBTQ+ Working Group Lead.
‘’This year I am committed to working alongside the other Diversity Leads to help raise awareness of the LGBTQ+ community in Admiral, while at the same time supporting and promoting our mission of diversity. By means of awareness and education, our aim is to adopt a gender-neutral environment through visibility and language used across the Admiral Group.”
