RNLI Pride Month 2025: Message from The Harbour Network
This Pride Month, the Harbour Network proudly celebrates our LGBT+ volunteers, staff, and supporters across the RNLI.
Pride is a time to honour identities, amplify voices, and reaffirm our commitment to inclusion on the water, on the beach, and in every community we serve. At the RNLI, our mission is to save lives at sea, but to do this and to prevent drowning, we must engage with all communities. Inclusion is a critical part of our lifesaving work. When everyone feels welcome and represented, we build stronger crews, more connected lifeguard teams, and deeper trust with the people we rescue. This is key to ensuring our long-term sustainability as a charity. By embracing diversity and reaching out to every corner of our communities, we secure the support, understanding, and income we need to keep our lifeboats launched and our beaches lifeguarded.
A message from Neal Somerville, Chair of the Harbour Network
‘Coming out is not always easy. You fear the perception and judgment of others. Being open and out allows you to speak up and call out behaviour that harms. I can speak first-hand of the difficulties I’ve faced when coming out. Losing friends, people turning their backs on me, and the lack of progress you face in an organisation can force you to reevaluate every life decision, just to avoid feeling that rejection time and time again. That’s why Pride matters. That’s why visibility matters. And that’s why we must keep pushing for change together.’
The reality of discrimination
Despite some progress, discrimination remains a daily reality for many LGBT+ people. Nearly 40% of LGBT+ employees in the UK are not out at work because they fear discrimination. Over a quarter have experienced negative comments from customers or clients, and more than half of those who feel they can’t be themselves at work have faced direct discrimination. These figures are a stark reminder of why inclusion is not optional, it’s essential.
The RNLI’s commitment to inclusion
The RNLI has made a commitment to creating a culture where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued, regardless of their background, identity, or lived experience.
Inclusion is critically important to the RNLI. We know that to save lives at sea we need to continue to welcome new volunteers and remove barriers to people joining the RNLI. We are committed to improving our inclusion because we know it supports our lifesaving capability. It will allow us to continue to get out our vital safety messages and grow a volunteer and staff community that is diverse, ensuring that their valuable expertise and experiences contribute to our success as an organisation.
We will remain committed to inclusion because we know it is of importance to the future of the RNLI to our people.
Because whoever we are, wherever we are from, we are one crew.
A thank you to our Ambassadors and Allies
We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our incredible Ambassadors, those who stand beside us, speak up when it’s hard, and help create safer, more inclusive spaces across the RNLI. Your support, courage, and willingness to challenge unacceptable behaviour makes a real difference. You help carry the weight of change, and we are stronger because of you.
This June let’s celebrate Pride with purpose. Let’s listen, learn, and lift each other up. Let’s show that the RNLI is for everyone, because everyone deserves to feel safe.
Harbour Network - [email protected]