Pride festivals are unique forms of festival and ceremony. Celebrating equality and acceptance for LGBT people, Pride is now a staple in many cities and towns worldwide, from small grassroots community events to massive spectacles.

While Pride is largely motivated by the LGBTA community, including allies and governments, corporate sponsors play a large role in funding events throughout. One of the most active sponsors at Pride events across the country is TD, a company that actively emphasizes LGBTA rights and equality both at work and in their local communities.

“At TD, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do, but it is also critical to our success as a leading North American bank,” says Al Ramsay, regional manager for LGBTA business development for the Greater Toronto Area. “From an employee standpoint, we get access to the best and brightest talent. From a customer standpoint, we want all our customers to feel valued, respected and supported — and it also represents a significant business opportunity.”

TD supports and participates in 42 Pride festivals across North America, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, London, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, and Winnipeg across Canada. The company began supporting Pride ten years ago at Toronto Pride, and will have a large presence this year at World Pride in Toronto.

“Supporting Pride Toronto 10 years ago was a very bold move for TD,” says Ramsay. “At that time, many corporations were not having the kind of open conversations we are having today. However, TD supporting Pride said we were fully committed to telling everyone where we stand. In fact, our intent at that time was to send a loud and clear message to our employees that we were fully in support of the LGBTA community.”

And  employees are at the heart of TD’s LGBTA commitment. “During World Pride, they will volunteer at numerous sites, including the 519 Community Centre and Pride stages,” he says. “TD also has one of the best floats in the parade, so employees and their families and friends will march, celebrating TD’s 10th anniversary of our Employee Pride Network.”

TD is going one step further in hosting a WorldPride Employee Summit, bringing LGBT employee leads from across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. They’ll be celebrating their successes so far and will look at how to evolve moving forward. “This is a journey,” says Ramsay, “and we can’t become complacent.”

Reflecting on TD’s 10 years of supporting Pride, Ramsay relates his own experiences and how TD helped him grow and succeed, both professionally and personally.

“When I joined TD 10 years ago, I chose to come out at work because of the inclusive environment,” he says. “However, I was still closeted at home. With the help of several TD executive mentors, they helped guide me with my own coming out journey with my family and friends. I’m proud to say that, last year, it was my absolute pleasure to marry my partner. I was able to share that incredible experience with my TD family — now my extended family.”

“One of my proudest moments was starting the TD Employee Pride Network 10 years ago, and seeing it evolve over the last decade to now include more than 3,000 employees across North America.”