For Goulburn-Murray Water’s Jenna Morris and Chloe Warburton it means standing up for what you believe in and creating equal rights for everybody.
“Everybody matters. It doesn’t matter your size, shape, colour, gender, sexuality, or your cultural background — everybody deserves respect and to be treated equally,” Ms Morris said.
She is a part G-MW’s staff-led Pride Network and the Water Services Association of Australia Pride in Water Network.
They both have been set up to share resources, raise awareness, build workplace and community connections and a network of allies and leaders.
“The reason that I joined was to help celebrate and support the pride community,” Ms Morris said.
“It is a community that is very close to my heart and I love that I can bring some awareness to the workplace and the community,”
Ms Morris identifies as bisexual and said it was important for her to promote G-MW as a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone is accepted and valued.
“It’s also about accepting people exactly as they are and accepting what they stand for.
“You don’t have to agree with everyone’s choices and views but you do need to respect them,” she said.
Chloe Warburton who also sits on the Pride Network said she joined to be a voice for those who didn’t feel comfortable or safe to stand up and to drive important conversations and opportunities for education and awareness in the diversity space.
“From a G-MW perspective we want people to know that we’re a safe and inclusive place to work,” Ms Warburton said.
“In northern Victoria there’s a lot of small rural towns where there’s often quite prevalent attitudes about LGBTQI people and it can be quite difficult to stamp out, but we just want to show that there are safe spaces and there are safe people to have those conversations and everyone deserves the right to be equal.”
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