As the world celebrates Pride Month in June, Lockheed Martin’s PRIDE Business Resource Group (BRG) is celebrating its 16th anniversary. This global BRG is nearly 3,000 members strong, with chapters in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
The mission of the PRIDE community is to enhance understanding of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and beyond (LGBTQ+) employees’ existence, challenges and contributions to create a more open and inclusive work environment that enables everyone to bring their full, authentic selves to work every day.
Lockheed Martin has long supported LGBTQ+ inclusion through affinity groups, business resource groups, leadership forums and community initiatives. In fact, the PRIDE BRG traces its roots to the Gay Lesbian Or Bisexual Employees (GLOBE) affinity group formed in 1981, forty years ago!
David is a finance manager for the F-35 sensors program. He’s been with Lockheed Martin for 15 years and co-chairs the PRIDE LGBTQ+ annual global leadership forum. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Lockheed Martin’s PRIDE forum themed Inclus10n: Seeing Beyond the Rainbow and focuses on intersectionality and the importance of allyship across the enterprise.
"I was very lucky that when I decided to take that step out of the closet I was accepted right away, and I can truly say that my career has flourished since."
Lockheed Martin sponsors and partners with several LGBTQ+ organizations to further workplace inclusion and community engagement, including:
- Out & Equal (O&E): Partners with corporations, governments and other organizations to promote LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.
- oSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics): Empowers LGBTQ+ people in STEM to succeed personally, academically and professionally by cultivating environments and communities that nurture innovation, leadership and advocacy.
- PFLAG: The largest organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents, families and allies.
- National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP): Professional society that educates and advocates for LGBTQ+ students and professionals in STEM.
The corporation has also received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index for fourteen years in a row. This index is the United States’ foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality.