Proud to mark Pride all year round

We love dogs, and we love the people who love dogs, too! Inclusion and equality are at the heart of not just Dogs Trust’s ethos, but also our everyday working life.

Not only are we committed to creating a truly diverse working environment which is friendly and welcoming to our whole Dogs Trust family, we also love opportunities to reach out to everyone who loves dogs, and Pride is a wonderful chance to do that.

Pride 23 marks one year on

June 23 marks a year since Dogs Trust first launched our EEDI (equality, equity diversity and inclusion) action plan to become truly inclusive, with colleagues, volunteers, and supporters as diverse as the communities we are here to serve.

We’ve made great progress over the past year.?We’ve launched a number of colleague networks to help our Dogs Trust family reach out to each other on matters of diversity, sharing ideas and advice. We’ve taken the time to mark events such as neurodiversity celebration week, Black History Month and, of course, Pride, and we’re currently in the process of seeking to better understand the demographics of our audiences. We’ve made a practical impact, too; after many years of campaigning, we were delighted to welcome measures unveiled in the Renters (Reform) Bill a couple of weeks ago, which will reduce barriers for renters with pets, meaning a positive impact for people experiencing homelessness.

Our journey is ever evolving

As it always the case, though, the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know, and this exciting journey is really only just beginning.

As chief executive of a national charity that is 132 years old, and has been through monumental changes in its time, I’m ever cognisant of the fact that no organisation ever reaches the point where its journey is complete.

There’s no area where this is truer than equality and diversity. So yearly moments such as Pride act as an important barometer for us, when we can stop, take stock, recognise how far we’ve come and, best of all, celebrate the journey we’re on.

See you at Pride!

Our staff working group has selected LGBTQ+ events all over the UK to attend representing Dogs Trust, and we’re looking forward to walking in the parades, linking up with other animal welfare charities and meeting as many dogs and dog lovers as we can at the Birmingham, Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Belfast Pride celebrations.

We look forward to seeing you there!