Drive & Passion

Written by Natalie Thomas from LGBT+ @Sky

I would like to share with you why I have the drive and passion to make a difference and raise awareness and promote inclusivity and diversity within my team, region and department.

When I joined Sky just over 10 years ago it was no secret that I was a gay woman. I have always been open about my sexuality and will continue to be; I have never felt any judgment or discrimination at Sky and have always been able to be myself.

However, where I work and where I live can sometimes be a different story. I'm from a little town in Wales called Pontypridd and even now to this day when myself and my partner are holding hands in public we often get funny looks or derogatory comments made towards us.

My partner and I have recently had our second daughter - she’s 10 weeks old now (growing way too fast!), while our first little monster is 2 going on 20. When my partner was pregnant and we would show any sort of affection towards one another in public, we'd get people having to take a double look realising that a pregnant woman was kissing another woman. It’s funny because you can see the cogs ticking away, as they think to themselves: "How is that even possible?".

Now that I am a mother to two beautiful daughters, it scares me more than ever that they could be at the brunt of someone’s hatred or narrow mindedness towards myself or my partner. So my fight is not only for me and my partner's rights but for my children's, and your children's.

I would love to help pave the way for people to be free from hate and hurt by teaching my daughters to love, no matter what colour, religion, sexuality or ethnic origin.

They will know how to be kind and how to stand up for what they believe in.

They will know that being different doesn’t mean you’re not normal.

They will know that we live in a world full of diversity and that is the true beauty of it.

I believe the way we'll change things is by teaching the next generation that equality is a basic right for any human being and we will never be free until we are all equal. I for one will never conform to what society deems as appropriate because, to me, my life and my amazing, loving and caring family are very much "normal".

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