Written by Bartosz Rezkallah, Regional Account Manager at Pertemps
Celebrating diversity is what Pride month is all about. It is a time where the spotlight is on inclusivity and everyone being encouraged to be their authentic self.
While this is something we should all be free to do all the time, it does give those perhaps less confident an opportunity to express themselves and speak up about what they believe in.
Through the years, there have been many people who have championed the cause. These icons have led the line. There are so many people I consider to be icons for me, so it is a very difficult, and a very personal, thing to single out one as a true icon for me.
However, for me, it is the Queen of Pop – Madonna.
I choose her as she has not only been an idol to me, but a mother and father too, especially when I was growing up. Madonna has always supported LGTBQ community, even when it was not ‘’popular’’ to do so. She has a strong attitude and is equally polarising and provocative. She likes to challenge people.
She was one of the most notable people to advocate about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. In 1989, she and her dance tutor, a gay man diagnosed with AIDS, held a benefit dance marathon raising money for people affected by this disease.
More recently, Madonna has continued to use her platform to support the LGBTQ community, speaking out against anti-LGBTQ laws, policies and practices. Madonna has spoken out for LGBTQ equality across the world and she continues to advocate for equality in the United States. She has also spoken against bullying of LGBTQ youth and related LGBTQ youth suicide.
In 2013, when presenting Anderson Cooper with the Vito Russo Award at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, she dressed as a Boy Scout in protest of the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on LGBTQ people.
Madonna gave a surprise performance at the Stonewall Inn, a historic venue for LGBTQ rights, to celebrate its anniversary and, in her words, ‘’over fifty years of revolution”.
She has done so much for the community over the years that, in 2019 she was honoured with the Advocate for Lifetime of Accelerating LGBTQ Acceptance.
Personally, she has taught me to be who I am, express myself, fight for what I believe in and ensure that I support and protect people who can’t do it themselves.
I love the fact that I work in an organisation which embraces everyone, no matter what their thoughts, beliefs or identity. Pertemps is a shining light in this respect and I am very proud to be part of the Pertemps family and a member of the Employee Resource Group which continues to work to ensure everybody has a voice and can be their authentic self.
