"I feel our firm has a true and sincere commitment to celebrate all differences", Vincent Rezzouk-Hammachi
I am a partner in London within our Privacy & Data Protection team, and I look after our Bird & Bird Privacy Solutions service line. I joined Bird & Bird in May 2019.
Every pride month is an opportunity to reflect on what it means for me to belong to the LGBTQ+ community.
It took me a while to feel comfortable with many components of my own identity. I am a gay man, from France with an Algerian background. I grew up in an open-minded Muslim family.
For many years, I really felt these sources of diversity were not important for me to share in the professional context. I always thought that these were strictly private matters, which were not of interest to other people around me.
Looking back, I feel that this fear of being vulnerable had in part been fuelled by previous work experiences, where I have witnessed inappropriate comments or behaviours, whether they were based on sexuality, gender, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
By contrast, when I joined Bird & Bird, I really felt our people are valued for who they really are. Vulnerability is respected and even encouraged. I feel our firm has a true and sincere commitment to celebrate all differences, whether based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, neurodiversity and much more.
This is why on this Pride month, I make the choice to be more visible and involved, by celebrating my differences. I want all my colleagues and friends to feel that we are one.