Corporate
Today Pride Month is marked across the globe and this year Inmarsat is proud to be sponsoring the IGLA LGBTQ+ aquatics championships as part of its activities to recognise and celebrate the incredibly diverse LGBTQ+ community.
IGLA London 2023 is a celebration of inclusion in sport and takes place at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London from 25-30 June – the first time the event has been held in the UK. It promises to be a week of entertainment, community and sporting moments with over 1,000 people from across the globe taking part in six master aquatic disciplines, ranging from swimming and diving to water polo and open water swimming.
Founded in 1987, the championships aim to create a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ athletes and allies to participate in aquatics sports and foster a sense of community through the love of water.
Niv Ben-Yehuda, Inmarsat Senior Business Systems Analyst and Chair of Inmarsat’s PRIDE employee network, who will also be taking part in the IGLA aquatic championships, says: “For sports people, coming out is still seen as a big story and so there continues to be a lack of visibility for the LGBTQ+ community. Inclusion in all aspects of life and society is important to us, which is why we are immensely proud to be able to celebrate and support IGLA London 2023.
“In addition, the wellbeing of our employees is equally important and we are encouraged to be physically active so the sponsorship is not only a perfect fit to promote the fantastic work of IGLA, but also a reminder for colleagues to think about their own physical health and wellbeing too.”
The Inmarsat PRIDE network, which is owned and driven by our employees and open to all, has also organised a series of events for colleagues during Pride Month, including sharing experiences of being a lesbian woman in the workplace and the intersection between racial and sexual identity.
In addition, with the LGBTQ+ community being so diverse, we’ll be helping people understand it better by running some LGBTQ+ focused inclusive language workshops. We will also be running local social gatherings at offices around the world to make Pride Month a truly global event.
