"GLOBE, Deloitte’s LGBT community, is about more than just raising awareness of LGBT issues, it is also about helping colleagues be themselves at work."

Why is talking and caring about diversity and inclusion so important for you?
For me, diversity is everything because I am truly living it, in my personal life as well as my professional life at Deloitte. Personally, I am very lucky to be in a beautiful relationship with a wonderful woman, who is Chinese but adopted by Dutch parents. Besides, I grew up in Britain, moved to France when I was 10 and am currently living in Luxembourg. Professionally, I support Deloitte’s LGBT community “GLOBE” and work in a diverse team with colleagues from different countries and cultures.

What does it mean to you to work in a diverse environment?
It means a lot, because a diverse working environment best fits my personality. Coming from a diverse background allows me, on one hand, to easily adapt to my clients’ needs. On the other hand, it helps me work in harmony with my colleagues which are from different backgrounds and countries.

I am currently setting up GLOBE in our Luxembourg offices. GLOBE is about more than just raising awareness on LGBT issues, it is also about helping Deloitte colleagues be themselves at work, because sometimes it takes people from the LGBT community a long time to even accept themselves as they are. So, if you work really hard on accepting yourself, but you can’t bring that same person to work every day and perform at 100%, all that hard work is lost. Building a better and stronger company also relies on our differences coming together, bringing out the best out of each of us and making everything work in harmony.

Did you ever experience a situation where diversity and inclusion were not present? What did you do in this situation?
No, I am very lucky to be part of an extremely inclusive team with leaders who ensure that no discrimination ever happens. My clients are also open-minded people who are genuinely curious about how Deloitte is approaching LGBT inclusion. So I also engage in discussions about diversity and inclusion with them. Some have even become friends thanks to the honest and open relationship we have had since the beginning.

How has diversity helped you so far in your daily work and your career?
Diversity has enabled me to meet new people that I would not have necessarily met otherwise. Creating GLOBE in Luxembourg brought together people from all service lines, levels, different nationalities and backgrounds. We learned a lot from each other during our journey and I think that it helped the project come together faster, better and more efficiently.

Has your perception of diversity changed over the years? Why?
I do not think that my perception has changed, I think that the way I go about promoting diversity has changed. I realized that you need to be vocal about subjects like LGBT inclusion. Without visible support and help of allies, no changes in mentality would have ever happened, and the fantastic advancements in LGBT rights would not have taken place in the past years. Being vocal is the one biggest factor in improving diversity and inclusion inside and outside the workplace.