Adrien & Pierre Gaubert

Tell us your story:

"In 2014, we – Adrien and Pierre Gaubert – co-founded myGwork with a clear and powerful mission: to create the world’s largest global business community for LGBTQ+ professionals, students, inclusive employers, allies, and anyone dedicated to workplace equality.

Our journey was deeply shaped by personal experiences of discrimination early in our careers, making us acutely aware of the need for safe, inclusive, and diverse environments where professionals, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, could thrive as their authentic selves.

As LGBTQ+ professionals, we faced numerous challenges: discrimination, professional isolation, and uncertainty in workplaces where it didn’t always feel safe to be open about our identities. These experiences fuelled our passion to launch myGwork. Our vision extended beyond simply creating a network for LGBTQ+ individuals. We aimed to help companies foster true inclusion and embrace diversity with empathy and purpose.

Since its inception, myGwork has grown into an award-winning platform, empowering the global LGBTQ+ business community. Today, we partner with hundreds of companies and community organisations across a range of industries, including many leading names in fintech, such as Fiserv, IG, FIS, REGnosys and Finastra.

Through myGwork, our corporate partners have the opportunity to recruit diverse professionals cost-effectively, as well as participate in virtual events such as WorkFair, the world’s largest virtual career fair for the LGBTQ+ community, and WorkPride, a week-long conference held during Pride Month. Our platform also leverages cutting-edge technology to provide millions of LGBTQ+ individual members with a safe space to connect with inclusive employers, find job opportunities, mentors, and professional events, and network in an environment free from discrimination.

We take immense pride in the partnerships we've built, particularly those within the fintech and finance sectors. Together, we are creating workplaces where LGBTQ+ employees and allies feel supported, respected, and celebrated. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, we reflect on the significant progress we've made (see below) and look forward to shaping the future of workplace equality."

Impact:

"Over the past decade, myGwork has been at the forefront of advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion in workplaces. For us, inclusivity is about more than just creating safe workplaces – it’s about unlocking the full potential of diverse talent. This is especially crucial in industries like fintech, where innovation thrives in environments that embrace diversity of thought, experience, and identity, and why we wanted to take part in this initiative.

At myGwork, we believe that when individuals feel accepted and empowered to be their authentic selves, companies thrive. This is particularly true in dynamic sectors like fintech, where inclusivity drives creativity, innovation, and long-term success.

Through myGwork, we provide fintech companies – as well as organisations across all sectors – with the tools they need to attract and retain top LGBTQ+ talent. A prime example is our upcoming WorkFair event (on November 13th), the world’s largest virtual global careers fair for LGBTQ+ students and recent graduates. This event connects forward-thinking, inclusive companies with a diverse pool of talent eager to bring their authentic selves to work.

During Pride Month, we also host our week-long flagship WorkPride conference, providing DEI champions with insights, best practices, and strategies to foster inclusivity.

Additionally, we launched the myGwork Academy, a hub for practical DEI & LGBTQ+ inclusion training. Our award-winning courses, such as LGBTQ+ Allyship, are designed to accelerate inclusion by equipping companies with the knowledge they need to cultivate truly inclusive work environments.

Other key milestones include:

• Recent investments exceeding £3 million, enabling us to double our global team to over 40 employees and expand internationally.

• Empowering and accelerating LGBTQ+ inclusion for over 350 corporate partners.

• Receiving over 500,000 job applications per month, demonstrating the platform's tangible impact in connecting diverse talent with inclusive opportunities.

• Building a global readership exceeding 2 million and fostering an engaged professional network of over 500,000 members, including LGBTQ+ professionals, graduates, and allies.

• Hosting monthly panels on key DEI topics and career-related workshops, fostering dialogue around critical workplace and community issues for the LGBTQ+ community.

• Securing multiple accolades in the tech and DEI spaces, such as being honoured as one of the UK’s Top 50 inclusion champions in the 2022/23 Diversity Power List, winning the Attitude Young LGBTQ+ Entrepreneur of the Year Award and named as one of the Top 100 Global LGBT+ OUTstanding Executives, as well as getting shortlisted for the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award for the 2024 National Diversity Awards. myGwork has also won several awards, including the Bank of London’s 2022 Rainbow Honours and the 2023 Inclusive Awards for D&I Tech Initiative."

Advice:

"Here are our top tips to support LGBTQ+ professionals in fintech get ahead in their careers, while creating workplace cultures where diversity thrives, creativity flourishes, and everyone has the opportunity to succeed:

• Join an LGBTQ+ ERG or Industry Network: Engage with your company’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group (ERG) or industry-specific networks. These groups offer valuable support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community. Embrace your intersectionality too by participating in groups that reflect other aspects of your identity, and help amplify the voices of other marginalised communities within the workplace.

• Promote LGBTQ+ Role Models: Highlight and celebrate LGBTQ+ leaders within your organisation to inspire others and break down barriers. Showcasing these role models sends a clear message that diversity is more than just a goal – it’s a core value. myGwork’s latest survey shows that 80% of LGBTQ+ students and graduates feel that openness about their identity could hinder their career progression. But seeing LGBTQ+ leaders at senior levels would make them more likely to accept a job offer. So make representation a priority to encourage authenticity and ambition in your workforce.

• Build a Strong Network of Mentors, Allies, and Peers: Having senior allies can make a significant impact on career advancement. Seek out mentors and allies in leadership who champion LGBTQ+ inclusion and advocate for equality. Consider being a mentor yourself – help guide others on their professional journey by paying it forward. With a community of over half a million members, myGwork can help you either become one or find one across any sector.

• Invest in DEI and LGBTQ+ Inclusion Training: Continuous education at an individual and team level is essential for creating inclusive workplaces. Invest in DEI training that covers allyship, intersectionality, and unconscious bias, not just for yourself, but for all teams across your organisation to foster a more cohesive and innovative workplace.

• Host and Attend Inclusive Events: Leverage both internal and external events to demonstrate your commitment to DEI and LGBTQ+ inclusion. Hosting or attending inclusive events not only helps you connect with diverse talent but also enhances your reputation as a forward-thinking and inclusive leader or employer.

• Lead with Inclusion and Collaborate: Lead by example and partner with organisations like Innovate Finance, myGwork and Pride in Fintech, and share your commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion and actively champion DEI initiatives within your industry. We believe that when you lead with inclusion, you inspire positive change across industries. By working together, we can create a more diverse, creative, and forward-thinking future for ALL in fintech."