Building Equality

📢 Join us for a powerful conversation on the future of Birmingham’s Gay Village! 🌆🏳️🌈 As major development plans reshape Birmingham’s city centre, what does this mean for Birmingham's Gay Village - a cultural and social cornerstone of the LGBTQ+ community? On 10th April, the Royal Town Planning Institute in collaboration with Building Equality and RICS, is hosting a panel discussion exploring how we can balance urban growth with protecting the spaces that matter. With expert insights from developers, planners, and policy leaders, this is a must-attend event for anyone in the built environment sector. 🎤 Our fantastic panel includes: ✨ Marc Forrest-Thomas - Practice Director, Planning & Environment at No5 Barristers' Chambers ✨ Charis Blythe - Principal Development Planner at Birmingham City Council ✨ James Hoskinson MSc MRTPI - Principal Development Planning Officer at Birmingham City Council ✨ Selina Mason - Director of Masterplanning & Strategic Design at Lendlease ✨ Ben Simm - RTPI WM RMB Committee member and WM EDI lead  📍 Venue: RICS, Birmingham 📅 Date: 10th April 2025 ⏰ Time: 17:30 - 20:00 🎟️ Free Event – Registration Required 💡 This is the perfect warm-up event for Birmingham Pride (UK) Ltd - which we're very excited to attend this year! 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eDhpdEXk 📧 Stay updated with Building Equality West Midlands by joining our mailing list: https://lnkd.in/eVhGFEB5

If you're an LGBTQ+ woman (cis or trans), non-binary or genderfluid professional working in the built environment, please spare a few minutes to share your experiences with Abbi Emerson for her dissertation research. Your insights are really valuable. 🌈 🎓

Your last minute reminder! ⏰ This week three of our regions will be hosting social events to bring LGBT+ professionals and allies in the built environment together for LGBT+ History month! 🌈 Come along and join us in: 🌃 Leeds - Wednesday 26th, from 5.30pm 🏙️ Birmingham - Thursday 27th, 12.30pm to 1.30pm 🌁 Manchester - Thursday 27th, from 6pm Whether you're looking to expand your connections, share experiences, or simply enjoy a social evening with like-minded professionals, these events are for you! Find out more about each event & let us know you're coming! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e9egMYXB #lgbthistorymonth #leeds #birmingham #manchester #networking #lgbt

February Events 📣 Later this month some of our regions will be hosting social events to bring LGBT+ professionals and allies in the built environment together for LGBT+ History month! 🌈 Come along and join us in: 🌃 Birmingham 🏙️ Leeds 🌁 Manchester Whether you're looking to expand your connections, share experiences, or simply enjoy a social evening with like-minded professionals, these events are for you! Find out more about each event & let us know you're coming! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e9egMYXB

This LGBT+ History Month, we’re taking a moment to reflect on our own journey as we proudly celebrate 10 years of Building Equality. From our first London Pride attendance in 2015 to becoming a nationwide force for inclusion, we can’t quite believe how far we’ve come! Over the past decade, we’ve: ✨ Grown from a small group to a nationwide movement, with regional groups developing their own networks and attending local Pride events. 🤝 Built connections that span the globe through virtual networking groups, toolbox talks, and collaborations with other LGBT+ organisations. 💡 Driven real change in the industry, advocating for inclusive workplaces and supporting individuals through key moments in their lives. 💙 Most importantly, we’ve built more than just networks—we’ve built a community. Join us as we celebrate a decade of championing inclusion, visibility, and progress for LGBT+ people across the built environment. Over the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our founding members and sharing the stories of those making an impact in our industry.   Behind the scenes, we’re also organising exciting events to bring us all together—stay tuned! We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or message us to get involved. ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 🩷 🤍 🩵 🤎 🖤 #builtenvironment #LGBT+ #DEI #10yearsofprogress

🌈 LGBT+ History Month Webinar 🌈 Join us for the first Re-engineering Pride webinar of 2025, hosted by InterEngineering Co-Chairs Patrick Murray Whitham and Fiona Connor, as we mark LGBT+ History Month and explore this year’s theme: Activism and Social Change. In this interactive, training-oriented session, we’ll dive into: - The Continued Importance of LGBTQIA+ Activism in 2025: Why the fight for equality and representation is far from over. - Social Change in Progress: Reflecting on key historic milestones in LGBTQIA+ rights and exploring how these legacies continue to shape and inspire ongoing progress toward greater inclusivity. - Relevance to Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing: Why embracing activism and fostering inclusion is critical to the future of these industries. - Actionable Steps to Get Involved: Practical guidance and real-world case studies to inspire and empower you to make a difference. This webinar is designed to equip attendees with knowledge, tools, and confidence to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion within their workplaces and communities. Together, we can continue to re-engineer our industries and drive positive social change. Throughout February, we’ll also be celebrating key LGBTQ+ figures who have shaped history and driven change. Follow InterEngineering on LinkedIn to see these inspiring stories and join the conversation. Register here - https://lnkd.in/dFuvvFY9

New year, new you? We're relaunching our Community Spaces program in 2025! We're moving to monthly sessions to better support the community, starting with a chat about our plans for the new year on the 9th January at 8am PT. Community Spaces is an informal networking program that's open to EVERYONE, if you haven't attended before and want to sign up drop us a message on here or email lucy.bradbury@aecom.com. Happy holidays to everyone celebrating, see you in 2025!

What a hilarious night! 🌈 We had an absolute blast at XS Malarkey’s Queer Comedy Special, brilliantly organised by our friends at InterEngineering. The comedy acts had us laughing all night, but a special shout-out goes to Kate Butch for her hilarious performance in a built environment themed jumpsuit. Zoom in enough and you might be able to spot Bob the Builder and his gang! The event was a sell-out success, and together we raised an incredible £1,500 for the George House Trust. For nearly 40 years, they've been providing HIV support, advice and advocacy services to improve health outcomes. ❤️ Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to this amazing cause! 

🌈 Building Equality: Celebrating a Decade of Progress! 🏳️🌈 In 2025, we are proud to celebrate 10 incredible years of Building Equality’s journey in advancing LGBTQIA+ inclusion across the built environment. What began with marching at London Pride has grown into a powerful movement that spans the UK, fostering safe, inclusive, and supportive spaces for everyone in our industry. To mark this milestone, we're excited to announce the formation of a dedicated party planning group. 🥳 This working group aims to bring together passionate individuals from across our network, where we can pool our ideas and use our unique strengths to shape impactful initiatives. Whether you’ve been part of our journey for years or are just starting to connect with Building Equality, this is your chance to shape the future and be part of something extraordinary.   You’re invited to get involved! If you’re passionate about creating positive change and want to contribute your ideas and energy, we’d love to hear from you! This is a volunteer-led initiative, and we truly value your time. We’re committed to keeping things manageable, enjoyable, and rewarding for everyone involved. We’re looking for volunteers with skills in: 📑 Events Planning & Project Management 💷 Fundraising & Budget Management 📢 Marketing & Social Media 🤝 Community Outreach & Social Value How to join the Party Planning Team: 📩 Drop us a comment or send us a direct message 📧 Reach out via email: buildingequalitylgbt@gmail.com 🌍 Contact your regional Building Equality committee First meeting: 📅 Tuesday 10th December ⏰ 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey so far. From the OG founders, the regional committee members to the people who attend events and use our resources. Your support has helped us group and find community. Let’s make 2025 a celebration of unity, pride, and continued progress toward true equality. 🏳️🌈✨

One week to go! ✨ Join us in Manchester, along with InterEngineering and XS Malarkey for a hilarious Queer Comedy Fundraiser for the incredible George House Trust. The Line Up: ⭐ Kate Butch (from series 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK) ⭐ John-Luke Roberts ⭐ Eden MW ⭐ & more still to be announced Expect an evening filled with side-splitting laughter, all while supporting a fantastic cause. Every penny raised will go to George House Trust, a charity that has been providing vital support and advice to those living with and affected by HIV since 1985. 🙌 Get your tickets now! 📆 Date: Tuesday 3rd December 🕗 Time: 7.30pm 📍 Location: 53two, Manchester 🎟️ Tickets: https://lnkd.in/eK2eEDFY P.S. Check out our LinkedIn page for other events happening in Manchester next week with some of our partner companies!