Exploring Effective Methods of Allyship and Uplifting LGBTQ+ Voices

As part of our ongoing allyship campaign, five passionate supporters of LGBTQ+ equality and inclusivity spoke to myGwork about the developments they would like to see take place. Tom Portingale, Luke Payne, Adele Baker, Alison Hutchings and Will Evans from RS Group discuss how allies can be more vocal and share unique advice to people who wish to improve upon their methods of allyship.

Can you please introduce yourself and describe your role at RS Group?

(Tom): I'm Tom Portingale, I have the pleasure of being the Global Lead for Employer Brand Marketing, engaging with candidates and colleagues to help attract & retain amazing talent into RS Group.

(Luke): I'm Luke Payne, I have worked for RS Group for just over 6 years now and work within the Inventory Management Team as a Senior Planner. I am also a committee member on our LGBTQ+ Resource Group (SPECTRUM) since its inception in 2019. More recently becoming Lead of Pride events for the UK, helping RS support as sponsors in Northampton and Corby.

(Adele): I'm Adele Baker, New Ventures Development Director within Digital and Innovation. My role focuses on new priority projects coming out of Digital and Innovation, understanding the true addressable market share, opportunity for sales adoption and keeping ahead of future trends.

(Alison): I'm Alison Hutchings, Head of Innovation Partnerships at RS Group. I work with strategic partners to develop ideas and create proof of concepts for the organization.

(Will): Hello there, my name is Will Evans, like “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory”, and I am a Department Trainer for the Distribution Center (DC) in Fort Worth, Texas. I’ve been with RS Group since January 2019.