Here Always: Adobe U.K. celebrates Pride this June and beyond

After almost two years as alliance lead in Adobe’s London office, Rylan Holey (he/him) recently acquired another important title: co-chair for Pride at Adobe in the U.K.

We talked to Holey about Adobe’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community, what he and his co-chair have in store for Pride Month, and how Adobe employees can support Pride all year long.

It’s Pride Month! Can you tell us how Adobe U.K. is celebrating this year?

We’re coming together around the theme, “Here Always,” which is really about being here for each other and the broader LGBTQIA+ community and letting everyone know that they belong. We’ll be doing some events with our partners and a few fun activities to help everyone enjoy the spirit of the month, including drag karaoke and a rooftop party.

My co-chair, Felicity Lees-Price, and I are also working on organizing charitable projects in our local community, and we’re launching a global fundraiser for three groups that are doing important work for transgender rights: the Trans Justice Funding Project, Transgender Europe (TGEU), and Rainbow Railroad. As part of our fundraiser, we’re tapping into an amazing Adobe program that will match the funds we raise.

Beyond Pride Month, what does Adobe do to help create an inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ employees?

One of the reasons I joined Adobe is the company’s core values — one of them is to be genuine. It means I can come to work and be myself. And as someone who’s part of the LGBTQIA+ community, the fact I can live that at work is really important to me.

Another way Adobe supports diversity in general is through our employee resources groups — and our LGBTQIA+ ERG was founded back in 1982, so it’s one of the oldest at the company, if not the oldest. Having this group means that we have a community where we can find peers and mentors to discuss things with and connect with, and we can support each other.

But the support is not just inside Adobe. You can see Adobe’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community in the way we go to market — we make sure that everything we do is inclusive. Our main mission is creativity for all, and that’s really meaningful, especially within the creative LGBTQIA+ community.

What do you hope people will do during this Pride Month to raise awareness and support the LGBTQIA+ community?

I think it's important to make change locally as well as globally. At Adobe, we're a fantastic brand with amazing customers and a great reputation — everyone knows or uses our solutions in some way. And that means we can use that recognition in our local communities.

We have nearly a thousand employees here in the U.K., so we can have a huge impact locally. Which is why I’m looking at local outreach — and not just during Pride Month but all year long. Over the next 12 months we’ll be reaching out to local charities to find out how Adobe employees can volunteer. And the impact will be multiplied because the company donates money for every hour employees contribute.

I hope employees will leverage their Adobe benefits to help local community organizations — wherever they are in the world.

What does Pride mean to you? How are you celebrating this month?

I've lived in London for about 18 years now. Over that time, I’ve met a lot of people who were involved in the Pride marches of London back in the 70s and 80s when it was really hard. They fought to make the changes that allowed someone like me to be out at work. Without their struggles, we wouldn't be here. So during Pride Month, I’m celebrating their achievements.

I’m also mindful that just one change of legislation can take us back many years. There's still a lot of work to do to make sure we’re not going back, and to advocate for issues that take us forward, such as transgender equality. So I think Pride is a moment to make noise in the world and in the U.K. — to remind people that things still need to get better.

So, for me, Pride is a time to celebrate and come together as a community — I’m definitely going have a good time — but we can’t forget that there is still more work to do.

Want to know more? Get details on Adobe’s Pride celebrations and find out about Adobe’s matching grants for employees who donate to causes or volunteer their time.