Archway, one of our biggest employee networks, is celebrating Pride Month with four films featuring LGBT+ employees sharing their experiences.
Archway – our LGBT+ employee network – is one of eight such membership organisations at Network Rail.
Educating through stories
Each film focuses on one of the separate identities that make up the LGBT+ community at Network Rail. You can watch some of them using the links below:
- Lesbian Pride: We’re all on the same track
- Gay Pride: We’re all on the same track
- Bi Pride: We’re all on the same track
Harry Levey, a senior communications business partner at Network Rail and deputy chair of Archway, said what makes the films exceptional is that they feature “real colleagues, sharing these incredibly powerful and moving stories”.
Lilly Connors, the communications lead for Archway who spearheaded the campaign, said: “Some of the people featured were incredibly nervous about being in front of the camera but once they started, they were absolutely amazing.”
The aim of the campaign is to educate and spread awareness to people in and particularly outside of the LGBT+ community.
Lilly said: “Not only is it educating other people but it’s empowering for the people in the actual videos. It’s one of my highlights.”
Archway
We’re proud to be an inclusive employer and it’s networks like Archway that help us in this important work.
Archway was founded in 2013 with the aim to improve the workplace for LGBT+ colleagues and to drive LGBT+ inclusion across the rail industry.
It started with just 22 members and has grown to 1,253. Some of Archway’s biggest achievements include:
- being named the top LGBT+ employee network in Britain at the British LGBT Awards in 2017
- winning charity Stonewall’s Network Group of the Year in 2022
- being shortlisted in the Outstanding LGBTQI+ Network of the Year category at the British Diversity Awards this year.
Positive change
Archway does a lot of other work to spread awareness and support for LGBT+ colleagues too. One such initiative is a weekly ‘inclusivitea’ event held every Friday online for members from all over to connect in an informal setting.
Shane Andrews MBE, who leads Archway, added it’s not just about supporting LGBT+ colleagues but LGBT+ passengers on the railway.
More young people in the UK identity as lesbian, gay or bisexual than ever before, according to the 2022 Rainbow Britain Report produced by Stonewall.
Meanwhile, a 2021 Hate Crime Report by Galop found two-thirds of LGBT+ people had experienced anti-LGBT+ violence or abuse in the UK.
So, networks like Archway are more vital now than ever before.