How does Temper celebrate diversity and inclusion?
Niek: “A couple of weeks ago we had a “cultural diversity” day in my team, where we learned about the Polish and Argentinian cultures. And since we celebrated cultural diversity, it’s also nice to celebrate Pride. So I’m glad we’re doing something through workshops, open chats and the Pride boat party. I feel very embraced here at Temper. For instance, I must say that I’ve always had female friends (and that’s very stereotypical, I know haha). Though, at work, I mostly hang out with guys. I told this to my friends and they were like “what?”, “Are they gay as well?”, and I am like “no, we’re just going out for beers”. It’s nice to mention this because they embrace me as a person and I feel very loved by that. That’s important to me because, in general, most of the bad experiences that I had as a gay man came from straight guys.”
Alejandro: “I’d say Temper encourages you to express yourself freely, naturally and without judgement. That gives everyone the confidence to be who we are and share our true colours.”
How would you describe the importance of Pride?
Niek: “I think the importance of Pride is to embrace each other as human beings and bring awareness around subjects that are out of someone’s circle. People who are not in the LGBTQIA+ community will never know for real what it is to be part of that group, but they can be aware of that. For example, when I was in a relationship, the Pride Parade was the only time when my then-boyfriend and I walked holding hands. We were always afraid of getting comments or weird looks, so only on that day, did we feel free to do so. Maybe for a straight person, this is such a small thing, but for us, it was something big.”
Alejandro: “It is important to recognise and celebrate what has been achieved so far, not giving anything for granted. We also need to continue to advocate for the complete acceptance of diversity, which is still needed in many people’s lives. For me, it is a common effort to build a society that accepts all people as they are. We can also exercise Pride every day by expressing ourselves freely and also demanding respect if not given.”
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