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Feeling Proud at Heathrow

Feeling Proud at Heathrow
Heathrow
Maria Asaad
Blog, People,

 

As we embark on Pride month, Heathrow is proud to represent such a diverse and inclusive workforce that shapes the UK’s busiest airport in such a great way.  

Pride Month is an annual celebration to commemorate those involved in the Stonewall riots, gay liberation protests that took place in Manhattan in 1969. Today, Pride Month honours and celebrates the movement and rights of the LGTBQ+ community.  

Here at Heathrow, we want everyone to be recognised for who they are, which is why we were so happy to announce and share the use of additional functionality across our Microsoft Team platform that enables colleagues to add their gender pronouns (he, she, they) to their profile if they wish to. 

This was launched on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and is a step toward eliminating assumptions or unconscious bias to create a more inclusive workplace.  

In honour of Pride Month, we reached out to various members of the Proud Network to learn more about their personal experiences, and what makes them proud to work for Heathrow as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.  

 

Patrick Vickery, Senior Account Manager

Patrick has worked at Heathrow for six years after initially joining via the Future Leaders Graduate Programme. He has really enjoyed his time since and has always felt welcomed and supported here at Heathrow, far more than anywhere else he has worked. He has never been made to feel marginalised or excluded based on his sexuality, actually, he has experienced quite the opposite, where he has found it to be a very comfortable and friendly environment where he can be his genuine self. 

Patrick expresses how being a part of the Proud Network has enhanced his Heathrow experience in several ways and has enabled him to meet so many people he would not have otherwise met. He has been given the opportunity to lead key ED&I workstreams and attend some amazing ED&I award ceremonies. It has also helped him grow as a person, as well as giving him the opportunity to help others.

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What makes you proud to work for Heathrow?
"The people. We work in a super busy, fast-paced and often challenging environment – but we come together as a team and achieve some amazing things, whilst supporting each other through it all. It’s a great feeling."

Patrick Vickery

Amy Herbert, Security Manager

Amy’s journey at Heathrow started four years ago as a Security Officer in Terminal 5, she has since progressed to a Security Manager in Terminal 3, a position she has held since March 2022. Amy absolutely loved the diversity she saw around her from the minute she stepped foot in Heathrow, especially after coming from a work environment that massively lacked diversity. It was such a breath of fresh air for her to be exposed to so many different cultures and walks of life. 

She has always felt very welcome at Heathrow and loves the various networks available to join to meet like-minded people. Amy has recently joined the Proud Network as a steering group member which has already really enhanced her work life. She has met so many people from the LGBTQ+ community in her work environment, that she has learnt from in both a personal and professional way. Some of her favourite highlights over the years include taking part in the London Pride parade and walking on behalf of Heathrow’s Proud Network. She has also had the opportunity to raise the pride flag on the roof of Terminal 2.

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What makes you proud to work for Heathrow?
“Heathrow embraces and encourages diversity, especially as an international hub, whilst consistently adapting and learning to the world we live in, which is why I'm proud to work for Heathrow."

Amy Herbert

James Davies, Services Lead – Product, Delivery and Implementation

James has been at Heathrow for seven years, during which he has achieved some phenomenal achievements, such as delivering the age change at eGates to all terminals, from age ten to age 12, which has significantly reduced arrival passenger journey times. He has absolutely loved his time at Heathrow and has always felt extremely supported by his team, especially through the tougher times faced during the operational side of things. 

James has always felt welcomed at Heathrow and is proud to represent his LGTBQ+ community in such a safe work environment. Being a part of the steering group at Heathrow has allowed James to be involved in the shaping of exciting future plans for the Pride parade and collaborate with other members within the network. Having the opportunity to meet colleagues from different business units has helped James to appreciate the hard work that others put in behind the scenes to help Heathrow run. 

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What makes you proud to work for Heathrow?
"It makes me proud to work at Heathrow that we are the doors to the world, whether you are departing, arriving or transiting, passengers are exposed to our UK hospitality through our service, airline, retail, restaurant and Team Heathrow colleagues."

James Davies

Nicola Dumbleton, Security Operations Lead

Nicola has just completed 12 years at Heathrow and is now a Security Operations Lead, an extremely diverse role that involves her primarily looking after third-party security-operated areas in the airport. Nicola joined Heathrow in her early 20s, a time when she didn’t feel the most comfortable with her sexuality, but after a few years, she quickly made lifelong friends that helped her grow in confidence.

She has always felt supported by her fellow colleagues and line managers during her time at Heathrow, and she finds it such a diverse place to work with everyone’s sexuality, religion and culture etc. highly respected. Since joining the LGBTQ+ PROUD network at Heathrow, Nicole has felt even more comfortable in her skin, and it has given her a true sense of belonging. It is extremely important to her to be a visible LGBTQ+ woman in the company and do her best to support fellow colleagues across the business.

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What makes you proud to work for Heathrow?
"While part of the pride campaign, I got to work with John for the first time. This really opened my eyes to what Heathrow was about, for our CEO to take so much time and effort to support something that was so important to me and many other people."

Nicola Dumbleton