Celebrating Pride Month with our employees, ambassadors & clients

Here at Booksy, we celebrate diversity and inclusiveness every day. But this month is very special - we celebrate Pride Month with our amazing community of clients, health and wellbeing professionals and even those behind the scenes at Booksy all June long!

Team Experiences

As we kick off Pride month, it’s a good time to reflect on how LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance has evolved, but also acknowledge and work towards providing a better space for LGBTQ+ people. We speak to some of the team members from Booksy UK and USA about their experiences.

Rachel, 27,  Marketing Specialist 🌈

Absolutely gutted that my local pride, Brighton, has been cancelled. I love being surrounded by such a diverse community, celebrating love, all whilst covered in glitter and rainbows, of course! 

I’m lucky enough to have never experienced discrimination or treated any differently for my sexuality being gay throughout my career. But what I have realised is that I have kept my personal and work life very separate in fear of being treated differently or hindering career prospects. A fear that, ultimately, I created in my own head. Meaning, I’ve not been my true self at work. Over time through the work that happens within pride month and the rest of the year. I found the confidence to be my authentic self.

My time with Booksy has only really just begun, but I’ve felt included, supported and celebrated from the get-go. It’s thanks to hiring those from different backgrounds and walks of life, getting involved in causes that mean a lot to the team, providing ongoing support through in-house therapy and having dedicated Happiness Managers, just to name a few!

Max, 23, Customer Success Onboarding Team Leader 🌈

Any person in the LGBTQ+ community knows what it's like to have to ‘tone down’ their personality and try to fit in amongst certain social groups. Whether it's friends, family, colleagues or a sports team, we’ve all at some point changed the way in which we act, talk, dress or even walk, just out of fear that someone may say or do something cruel.

I’ve only really ever had one negative experience in the workplace where I was picked on for my sexuality and at the time I was just 17 - this set a standard in my head for what I thought was acceptable and what I believed other workplaces to be like.

Since starting at Booksy nearly 3 years ago, I’m very lucky in the sense that I’ve not once been made to feel like I need to ‘tone down’ or change the way I act/dress/look in my time at Booksy UK. I’ve only ever felt love and acceptance from my peers. Having people both higher up in the company and people in my team also be part of the LGBTQ+ community makes me so unbelievably happy and proud to work at Booksy. This is so empowering and I often have to take a moment to appreciate just how lucky I am to work here, with people who will only ever judge me based on the quality of my work and never on my identity.

Tommy Zei, 31, Customer Success Representative 🌈

It's been almost three years since I started working at Booksy here in Chicago and it’s been a great place to work as a gay man. My coworkers embrace me, management takes my ideas seriously, the company has been very keen to work with its LGBTQ+ staff to make sure Booksy is a positive place for us to work, and I got to start our Booksy Pride Slack channel!

The work we do here is also a big help for the health, beauty, and wellness businesses out there, many of which are owned by or are closely associated with the LGBTQ+ community. Whether it's beard trimming, waxing, gender-defying haircuts, or just trying out a new dye job, Booksy's helping people find the look that’s right for them.

Merchant spotlight

Barberette

Barberette was founded by hairstylist Klara Vanova in 2012, when she set out to work on her own business venture, building a salon that catered for all genders, sexualities and styles without judgement. Leaving the concept of gendered pricing in the past, Klara’s dream was to create a space where every client would feel empowered to ask for (and get!) what they wanted. Now in 2021, having established the London salon and its extensive client base, Klara has since moved to Prague, where she has now set up a new sister salon.

Glitch

Glitch is an inspired, multifunctional space created by Alessandro Frank and Stephan Vi. Wanting to create a salon that would break the traditional and dated hairdressing format, the pair launched the brand back in 2017. They collaborate with other businesses, including @_thebutchbaker_, in their Brighton salon. Glitch is a hub of creativity and community events. It celebrates diversity, from classic styles to shaggy cuts, and the most amazing colours. We love it!

Pedro Plastic

A massive art lover, Pedro moved to London in 2017 and gone strength to strength within his career becoming an artist and educator for Pulp Riot and Brazilian Bond Builder, as well as an ambassador for Booksy UK. He has also taken part in big industry events, such as Salon International. Pedro creates beautiful bright looks which celebrate diversity and self-expression.