15 years of UBS Pride Switzerland

And this year, we are one of the two main sponsors of the Zurich Pride Festival.

Fifteen years ago, a handful of people began meeting regularly for lunch to discuss their experiences and the challenges of being a member of the LGBTQ community in the workplace. They soon realized that something more formal than the occasional lunch was needed to raise the visibility of LGBTQ issues within the company. This was the birth of UBS Pride Switzerland, which now has around 350 members. And, in addition to UBS Pride Switzerland there are chapters in the US, UK and APAC, totaling over 1,000 members!

Our senior sponsor, Maria (General Counsel, Wealth Management), is committed to helping ensure a working environment where everyone feels welcome just as they are: “Diversity and inclusion are very close to my heart, as everybody should be able to be themselves and have the same opportunities. I'm proud to be the group's senior sponsor and to work on the Power of Perspectives initiative to tackle unconscious bias.”

We also asked the chair of the Pride network, Susanne, to share the biggest accomplishments from the last 15 years. "Oh wow, where to start? First and foremost, how we have been able to build and maintain a large network over the last 15 years. This is especially impressive given that the entire network is managed by just a few volunteers. We were also selected as a finalist for the Swiss Stonewall Award in 2007. I could probably go on for a while!"

Learn more about our employee networks here.