Spotlight: How TD Bank supports LGBTQ2+ communities at home, across North America and globally

Anyone who has been to a Pride festival anywhere in Canada in recent years is likely already familiar with the presence of TD Bank at these celebrations. As a long-standing supporter of Pride celebrations in North America — TD was the first bank to sponsor a major Pride festival in 2005 — including 2014 and 2019’s World Prides, their commitment to the LGBTQ2+ community goes far beyond helping put on fabulous parties. Though we certainly love those at Pride In Business!

For more than 25 years, TD has been on a journey of support for the LGBTQ2+ community, taking principled and, at times, unpopular stands. They stood behind their employees by introducing same-sex spousal benefits in 1994, more than a decade before same-sex marriage was legally recognized across Canada. In 2005, they began a global commitment they maintain today which included a donation of $100,000 in 2014 to help support the development and growth of Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps LGBTQ2+ individuals escape from countries where they are open targets of violence. Today, TD remains Rainbow Railroad's largest corporate partner And, at home in Canada, they’ve gone above and beyond to support the specific needs of their LGBTQ2+ customers through the creation of roles unique to the financial industry that allow for direct support of the community.

Employees like Al Ramsay, associate vice president of sales and strategy and head of LGBTQ2+ business development for TD Wealth, and Tyler Brown, regional manager for LGBTQ2+ business development for the prairie region, are the heart and soul of TD’s commitments to the community. They’re also both familiar faces at many of Pride In Businesses’ events and if you’ve had the opportunity to hear Ramsay speak, you’ve likely heard about why he considers his job to be the best one in the world:

“In my speeches I usually joke that my day job is my gay job and my gay job is my day job,” says Ramsay. When he started at TD, he said he decided to rebrand himself. “For the first time in my life, I showed up as a proud, open, gay man.” Then the manager of community relations, Ramsay formed partnerships with grassroots organizations that were meaningful to the South Asian, Black, Chinese, Korean, and LGBTQ2+ across Canada . “Living authentically empowered me and I brought my whole self to work.”

Nowadays, he operates on a much larger scale as the lead of TD’s LGBTQ2+ business development team, which has allowed him to spearhead the launch of several employee resource groups including its LGBTQ2+ and Black Employee Networks while also serving on numerous committees and boards championing diversity and inclusion including of the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, ExeQutive, and The Rainbow Railroad.

“[TD’s] community support and partnership are at the heart of my role – this is where we live, work, and play,” says Ramsay. “If we didn't have an excellent community strategy, we wouldn’t be successful in our jobs.”

It’s this same sentiment, Ramsay says, that permeates TD’s approach to the values of inclusion and diversity across the company. He points to the latest in a series of continuing injustices against the Black community and TD’s reinforced commitments to representation and combating systemic racism and its impacts. In July, 2020, TD’s CEO, Bharat Masrani, announced a number of commitments including, but not limited to, doubling the representation of Black executives by the end of 2022, increasing minority representation with a specific focus on Black and Indigenous talent across the Bank by 50% by 2025, and investing $16.5 million in 2020 alone on initiatives related to fighting systemic racism and bias in society.

When it comes to TD’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, Ramsay says Masrani puts it best:

“At TD, diversity is not a program or a policy. It's part of our DNA. We care just as much about being a supportive place for our employees to work and a comfortable place for customers to bank. We are committed to being active members of the communities we serve.
We believe that TD's commitment to diversity is not only the right thing – it's critical to achieving our mission to be a leading North American bank. Our success depends on reflecting the communities and cultures where we do business.”

It’s this DNA that allows TD to work so closely with members of the LGBTQ2+ community at a very local level. As the regional manager for LGBTQ2+ business development for the prairies, Brown has the opportunity to work with the community in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to ensure TD provides the absolute best service possible 365 days a year.

Tyler Brown Regional manager for LGBTQ2+ business development for the prairie region — Tyler Brown *Regional manager for LGBTQ2+ business development for the prairie region*

Brown says his role is an expansion of TD’s already robust support for the community. “We have a long history of supporting community programs and initiatives across North America and have extended that to a role that supports our LGBTQ2+ clients and community in the local market. I have the chance to speak with our colleagues, community partners and customers about their unique challenges, and ensure we can find the right solution and support.”

A born-and-raised Albertan, Brown says that over the past few years this support has been reflected in significant changes in the community. “Now, more than ever, I think it’s important to be visible and I'm thrilled to see inclusion and diversity becoming more of a mainstream conversation, even here in Calgary,” says Brown. “Having the chance to work within my community, to learn and grow from folks with different unique experiences has been remarkable.”

Through TD’s Ready Commitment, Brown says the bank has been able to provide funding and support to organizations that make meaningful impacts in their communities every day. “Whether that’s through supporting gender diverse youth through organizations like Skipping Stone, vulnerable communities through the SHARP Foundation, or providing the opportunity to network with likeminded professionals at a Pride In Business event, we are very proud of our support of the LGBTQ2+ community in Calgary and Alberta.”

Launched in 2018, The Ready Commitment is TD's global citizenship platform which, among other initiatives, has the goal of creating a more sustainable and inclusive tomorrow. The four areas of impact TD considers for funding through the Ready Commitment are: Financial Security, Connected Communities, Vibrant Planet, and Better Health.

“If an organization is making a significant impact in their community in relation to any one or more of these areas, I would encourage them to take a look through The Ready Commitment website for additional information,” says Brown. And, with the recent impacts of Covid-19, he notes that TD has also launched its Community Resilience initiative to provide additional support to non-profit organizations in the form of additional funding, matching grants and community initiatives.

As a partner committed to the success of Pride In Business, TD has been an instrumental force in connecting our local business community and its allies, to the point that Ramsay and Brown are almost more recognizable than our own organizing team at events. During these challenging times, we are proud to partner with this fantastic institution to continue to bring you virtual and socially distanced live events.

Pride In Business Community Spotlight, in partnership with TD.
By Fraser Tripp