The 2026 Workplace Pride Impact Awards announces this year’s shortlist, announcing the people, networks and campaigns turning commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion into action.
The people, employee networks and campaigns helping advance LGBTQ+ inclusion at work have been recognised in the shortlist for the 2026 Workplace Pride Impact Awards. This year’s nominees span individual role models and allies, employee networks, global campaigns and initiatives designed to create greater visibility, belonging and lasting workplace change.
The awards take on added significance this year as Workplace Pride celebrates its 20th anniversary, providing an opportunity to recognise both the progress made over the past two decades and the work still needed to build genuinely inclusive workplaces.
Nominees have been shortlisted across six categories, including the Members’ Choice – Game Changer Award, which recognises initiatives creating impact beyond their immediate organisations.
WORKPLACE PRIDE IMPACT AWARDS 2026 FINALISTS
This year’s finalists, by category, include:
Volunteer of the Year
The Volunteer of the Year category recognises individuals giving their time and energy to advance LGBTIQ+ inclusion within their organisations and communities. The finalists include:
- Laura Coman – Lenovo
- Gul Uysal – Unilever
- Krishna Ramachandran – Shell Canada Ltd.
- Patrick van Rosmalen – Accenture Netherlands Pride Network
Role Model of the Year
Visible role models can play an important part in creating workplaces where LGBTQ+ colleagues feel able to be themselves, while demonstrating that authenticity and career progression are not mutually exclusive. The Role Model of the Year finalists are:
- Lianne Schmidt – McKinsey
- Zoraida Martin Valiente – ING
- Nichole Pritchard – Metso
Media Outreach Award of the Year
The Media Outreach Award celebrates campaigns using communications and visibility to extend conversations about LGBTIQ+ inclusion beyond individual workplaces. This year’s finalists include:
- ING – ING Pride Campaign
- KLM – Ready for Take Off with Envy Peru
- Randstad – Unified in Pride: International Pride Month Sunrise-to-Sunset Global Campaign
The category highlights how external communications can complement internal inclusion efforts by increasing visibility and bringing workplace inclusion conversations to wider audiences.
Ally of the Year
Effective allyship can help turn support for inclusion into practical action, particularly when colleagues use their influence to challenge barriers and advocate for others. The Ally of the Year finalists are:
- Hazel Delos Santos – ING
- Lidewij de Haas – BAM
- Miriam Kartman – KLM
As Fair Play Talks has previously explored through the #BringAnAlly campaign, meaningful allyship requires more than attending inclusion events or expressing support. It involves bringing new people into conversations, sharing influence and helping make inclusion a responsibility beyond those directly affected.
Network of the Year
Employee networks continue to provide community, visibility and a route for employees to help influence organisational culture. The Network of the Year finalists are:
- Accenture Netherlands Pride Network
- ING – One Voice. Greater Impact
- Unilever Benelux – ProUd Network Benelux
- Lenovo ERG – A Safe Harbour, Every Day
The shortlisted networks reflect different approaches to building community and creating safer, more inclusive workplace environments.
Game Changer Award
The 2026 Members’ Choice – Game Changer Award celebrates initiatives designed to create an impact that extends beyond their own organisations. The finalists include:
- McKinsey – First-ever European Trans+ Gathering for McKinsey – WorldPride Amsterdam 2026
- ING – The Rainbow Lions: 20+ Years of Pride & Progress Exhibition
- Lenovo – IANGA: I Am Not Going Anywhere
- KLM – KLM’s Customer Experience Team
- IKEA – Make Room for Love: Everyday Allyship at Ingka Group
Together, the shortlisted initiatives demonstrate the different ways organisations can move inclusion forward, from creating spaces for community and strengthening employee networks to increasing visibility and embedding allyship into everyday working life.
TURNING COMMITMENT INTO ACTION
The breadth of this year’s shortlist also reinforces an important distinction in workplace inclusion – representation and statements of support are only part of the picture. Meaningful progress depends on what organisations and individuals actually do – whether that means creating supportive employee networks, challenging exclusion, increasing visibility, using influence as an ally or removing structural barriers.
That remains particularly important where employees may still be weighing up whether they feel safe being open about who they are at work. As Fair Play Talks highlighted for National Coming Out Day 2026, coming out should always remain a personal decision, while employers have a responsibility to create environments where people do not have to choose between authenticity, safety and career progression.
The Workplace Pride nominees demonstrate how that work can take place at different levels — through individual leadership, collective employee action, communications and organisation-wide initiatives.
ICONS OF INCLUSION
The winners will be announced at the Workplace Pride Impact Awards Gala on 6 November 2026 at Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. This year’s anniversary theme is: “Icons of Inclusion: Celebrating the Past. Building the Future.” Marking Workplace Pride’s 20th anniversary, the event will celebrate individuals and organisations contributing to LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion while looking ahead to the next phase of progress.
Each nomination reflects a different route to change – from empowering colleagues and building supportive networks to creating high-profile campaigns and challenging established workplace practices. The winners will ultimately provide a snapshot of some of the people and initiatives helping translate LGBTQ+ inclusion from commitment into everyday action.
Discover the full 2026 Workplace Pride Impact Awards shortlist and nominees here.
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