Marking IDAHOBIT Day 2021
To mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) 2021, we spoke to Dade Edwards, Suncorp’s Head of Performance & Executive Office Insurance, Claims and Operations (ICO) and Co-Chair of Amplify; Suncorp’s employee resource group supporting our LGBTIQ+ community and their allies.
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‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ can be quite the broad-sweeping statement when working for a large organisation. Its sentiment, however, is something Dade Edwards strives to bring to work every day.
“I’ve spent a career forming trusted relationships and am able to be heard,” says Dade. “I have a platform. I thought deeply about how I’ve chosen to invest in my career and in my private life and realised that maybe if I brought more of 'me' to work, I might be able to introduce more balance to my life."
Having been at Suncorp for almost eight years, Dade has recently joined Amplify as co-chair, leading the team in finding new ways to connect with people about diversity and culture, while highlighting the importance of education in fighting prejudice, discrimination & violence.
“Though I’m only new to Amplify, I’m hoping I can help the resource's team continue to make Suncorp a more inclusive and kinder place to work. Part of being a co-chair is leveraging opportunities to be seen and heard. That means turning up to meetings and events, and finding opportunities to engage in broader conversations.”
Ultimately, I’ve decided that if I want more kindness and altruism in the world, maybe I should do something about it.
With an undoubted passion to drive change and to foster understanding and empathy, Dade sees IDAHOBIT Day as not only a platform to speak out about violence and discrimination against people in the LGBTIQ+ community, it serves as an opportunity to open up the conversation, and to learn from others' experiences.
“If you’re reading this, you probably know what IDAHOBIT is. If you don’t, it’s an international day where we speak out about the discrimination and violence experienced by LGBTIQ+ people around the world. If you want to learn more, IDAHOBIT is a great time to find out! There’s plenty of resources a click away on the IDAHOBIT resources website.
For me, it will be a day to be visible. With this article and my role in Amplify, I am going to be braver than I normally am, and reveal more about myself than just what I have to say about an insurance/work-related topic. If that sparks a bit of curiosity and interest in IDAHOBIT or what it’s all about, then great!”
