A team member from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Sutton is sharing his story in celebration of Pride Month. Pride Month honours the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which was a turning point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.

Celebrations now take place in countries all over the world and include parades, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, attracting millions of participants.

This year, employees from Amazon will be taking part in Pride parades in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

Daniel Neilson, from Nottingham, is one of the Amazon employees taking part in the Nottingham parade. Alongside his personal Pride Month celebrations, Daniel is sharing his story to showcase Amazon’s #ProudToBeMe campaign in honour of Pride Month.

Daniel, senior diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) specialist, LGBTQ+ & EU Communities lead. Daniel’s role includes creating a culture of inclusion and equitable workplace through different programmes such as education and Allyship programs, policy reviews and community campaigns and activations for under-represented communities.

Before starting his role at Amazon, Daniel was an officer in the Royal Navy. His Armed Forces career began when he was 19, and he served for 13 years.

After leaving the Royal Navy in 2020, Daniel discovered Amazon’s military recruitment programme and decided it would be the perfect chance to try a new challenge.

Alongside his role as a DE&I specialist, Daniel is also on the Europe board for Amazon’s affinity group for the LGBTQIA+ community, Glamazon.

Daniel said: “Since joining Amazon, I have had the opportunity to learn and grow, while also helping to educate others learn more about diversity and inclusion.”

He added: “My absolute favourite thing about working at Amazon is that I can assist in making people’s lives better by working every day to create a supportive environment and sense of belonging for all employees. A lot of people from under-represented communities don’t feel that very often.”

Speaking on his role with Glamazon, Daniel said: “One of the main roles of Glamazon is to ensure we continue to have a great LGBTQIA+ employee network in the UK and across the world. I really enjoy playing a part in that and I find it very rewarding to learn from my colleagues in other Glamazon teams, sharing ideas and different ways of working.”

On the support provided to him by Amazon as a Cis Gay man, Daniel added: “Amazon is a fantastic employer that places a lot of emphasis on the importance of DE&I within the workplace. The work that Amazon does to raise awareness and create a supportive environment for its employees is incredible. It’s not just during Pride Month that we want to celebrate and promote this. Amazon is committed to the cause every single day.”

Pride is a big event in Daniel’s calendar, and he’s involved in a lot of events both through Amazon and outside work. Daniel will be taking part in this year’s celebration in Nottingham and in November will be travelling to Palm Springs where he will take part in the Pride celebrations there with friends.

Daniel said: “For me, Pride is a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community – where we are today and how far we have come. Not only is it a celebration, it’s also a moment to raise awareness, educate and highlight to the world the struggles and challenges we still face now.

“I used to feel very ashamed about being gay and hid who I was for years through fear of rejection. It wasn’t until I met my now Husband who showed me how accepting the LGBTQIA+ community was and gave me the confidence to love myself and give me the support to grow and be the out and proud gay man I am today.”