🌈LGBTQ+ in the service industry - Rich Tuckwell-Skuda

The hospitality industry has been a LGBTQ+ community supporter and top employment sector for years and it globally recognises the need to change the way employers operate globally in order to be more diverse. This series of interviews will be looking into the career and inspirations of top industry leaders/figures to celebrate one of the most diverse employment sectors.

Rich Tuckwell-Skuda, CEO – RTS Hospitality  / Principal – Beach Avenue Financial 

What does “diversity” mean to you?

EVERYTHING! Business is about appealing to everyone, how can you possibly have a successful product, service or business that appeals to everyone if you don’t have a fully immersive 

During your career in the service industry, what has made it possible for your to be a successful leader and at the same time, a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community?

Well over the course of my career and life, during the early years, until my mid-30’s I was a very active and published LGBTQ+ rights campaigner. I decided early on that I would make it part of my business to ensure that my passion for the rights of the community that I’m part of were front and centre of any business I was involved in.  It’s also fairly impossible to ’stay in the closet’ when your face is plastered all over a gay magazines, TV and Pride parades lol. 

I believe in treating people how I want to be treated, I’m known for my relaxed but professional business style, my humor in business dealings, my boyish good looks (kidding! LOL) and that I’m a driver for change. Every business I get involved with I want to ensure is operationally and financially the best it can be, I also want to push the team involved to be the best they can be. Overall I think I create value for boards, the team, myself and the wider community. 

Do you have recommendations for any LGBTQ+ people entering the employment/business world who might face situations of discrimination?

Absolutely do no put up with it! For the first time in over a decade recently I personally have experienced discrimination myself, which honestly, I thought I and the industry were past.  My advice is finding something else immediately, do not make yourself unemployed unless you really have no choice, and then once you are safe and secure financially again, call a lawyer! We as a community have to stand strong and firm on discrimination, it is not acceptable and the only way we will stop discrimination is by ensuring those committing it are held accountable for their actions, options and behaviors. 

Have you noticed any differences from a best practice in the business perspective, as an LGBTQ+ person, between when you started compared to now? (policies, support…)

LOL soooo much, this will be novel if I start listing out the changes. 

Has anything in your professional career (or maybe personal life) that has made you think or say, “let’s change this for the community?”

My mantra in life as well as business is ‘change what I can’t accept, accept what I can’t change’, I rarely accept I can’t affect a positive change if I can’t accept something. 

As per my first answer, I spent a huge part of my career campaigning to change the way the motoring industry and the insurance industry treated LGBTQ+ community members both as workers, buyers, suppliers and as people in general. 

I suffered horrendous discrimination in the business and motoring world will I first moved from owning and operating LQBTQ+ bars, lodgings and nightclubs (my first business at 18yrs old) into the ‘professional’ world. I decided within 2yrs of constantly experiencing this on a daily basis that I needed to do something to change this. 

Have there been any LGBTQ+ organisations, groups or places that have been part of your journey?

Too many to mention, globally. 

What do you think could improve for the LGBTQ+ community in the employment world?

I still think we do not recognize LGBTQ+ partners rights as much as we should or could from a legal point of view, they are getting better, but I think we still have some distance to travel on that.

If you would like to take part as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, get in touch with Krishnan (krishnan@corecruitment.com)