The opportunity to be For Better.

Happy Pride Month!

Please join me and everyone at KPMG in celebrating the achievements and honoring the struggles of the LGBT community this June for #PrideMonth. Although we cannot share each other’s personal company as we celebrate this year, the enthusiasm and determination to build a fairer and more inclusive society is undiminished—something I am grateful for.

True fairness only exists if we promote equity across society—a fact made more apparent as protests and rallies against racial injustice have spread across the United States and the world. The tragic death of George Floyd and so many others are important reminders that there is a lot of work to do. We all have a part to play in shaping that future: to voice support, take action, and drive positive change.

I am hopeful that we are closer to that day, and proud that KPMG has contributed in a positive way. Our member firms from Australia, Brazil, and Canada to India, Japan, the US and UK, and everywhere in between have designed programs and platforms to help support our LGBT colleagues—wherever they exist. Our Global Pride @ KPMG network provides a global forum for LGBT colleagues to amplify their collective voices. It’s an invaluable resource for some as it may be their only available outlet to share their true selves with others, even in countries where they cannot be themselves.

And this past week, we held a virtual Global Pride Conference that brought together thousands of our colleagues, including Allies, from many different countries to express support for the LGBT community, to champion our diversity and to learn from each other. Leaders from the Human Rights Campaign and PFLAG provided insights on how we can all be better and do better—to act, speak out, show up and engage.

Together, these programs help foster self-expression, promote understanding of differences, and help our colleagues grow as people. Not only do they make business sense, they are the right thing to do.

I am not an expert on these issues—far from it. I am a student. I’d like to say I knew it myself, but I didn’t. I have learned it from others, from people with the courage to teach me and not judge me for my ignorance but accept me for my desire to help and be an ally. I am incredibly grateful to them for their patience. 

What have I learned? I’ve learned that diversity of all kinds expands any team’s capacity to solve complex problems. Its fingerprints are always on the most elegant, most successful solutions. It makes good teams, great. But I’ve also learned that empowering members of a team to voice concern, act on intuition, and confront norms is just as critical as it is challenging. Providing an inclusive environment that harnesses that diversity starts with a fundamental level of respect for each other and an openness to embrace difference.

Diversity is powerful. Inclusion harnesses it. Both are important and both are necessary.

These past few months have been challenging, but we’ve been given an enormous opportunity to change our world for the better. We’ve learned that the whole world can come together for one cause when challenged—and the fact that so many diverse people are marching in the streets to hold society accountable is in itself a moment of inspiration. The will to change, the need to change and the courage to accept change are all aligned. The world has always been diverse, now’s the chance to make it inclusive.

Let’s channel the goodwill we’ve seen permeate our communities in these times of need to drive long-lasting, positive change. And Together, we can be For Better. It’s the only way.