Proud, but what about happy?

Last month was LGBTQ+ pride month, and many of our colleagues celebrated at prides up and down the country. We hosted our very own pride month panel here at Holborn Gate, focusing on LGBTQ mental health in the communications sector.

The event was run in conjunction with Intercomms and Pride AM. We welcomed speakers from the London Assembly, NABS, and Gaydar, as well as other activists fighting for diversity and inclusion within the sector.

Many of the statistics we heard were sobering. We learnt about the rates of LGBTQ+ people who had experienced hate or discrimination, the levels of poor mental health in the community, and the challenges still facing LGBTQ+ people in our industry.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Activists are doing amazing work to improve the situation, and organisations like NABS are here to support those who are going through tough times. We discussed the relationship between mental health and happiness; how they interact and how they differ.

The Q&A was jam-packed with positive stories, and ideas about how to enact change. The event concluded with a great nugget of wisdom from our own head of creative James Maxwell – happiness is hard work, but it’s worth it!

Written by Sandy Downs, Teamspirit