For the second year running, CUB and Yak Brewing are proud to be sponsoring and marching in the 2020 Sydney Mardi Gras parade. This is part of our commitment to supporting a diverse workplace that encourages inclusivity and allows every employee to be their authentic self. 

Tammy Heuych is among the dozens of CUB employees who will march this year. 

Tammy has worked at CUB for six years in the QLD sales team. Before this, Tammy had worked in learning and development at a healthcare company and taught at her local school. Coming into CUB, Tammy was excited to try something new and move into an agile industry that was always changing.

She stated: “The alcohol industry itself was such a massive change [from insurance] … a big motivator was to be in something that was fun and exciting”. 

Tammy is brimming with excitement to be marching in her first parade with CUB this year. 

“Marching in a parade has always been a bucket list item of mine but I have felt like the world’s worst lesbian,” she joked. “This is because I did live in Sydney for a period of time, but never had the opportunity to partake in Mardi Gras. Then raising a young family, it always came in low on my priority list.” 

For Tammy, this opportunity represents more than just crossing off a bucket list event. She has long been a proud advocate for the LGBT+ community. Within CUB, she is a member of ‘Pride at CUB’, a network that supports the LGBT+ community within CUB and works to educate the wider business on the importance of diversity. She is also an ‘Ally’, an internal certification to that promotes acceptance and creates a support network for colleagues. However, Tammy has not always felt comfortable to be herself at work. 

Tammy said about her time prior to CUB: “In some other jobs, I never came out in the workplace – I never felt comfortable being my most authentic self.” This had previously seen Tammy use gender neutral pronouns when describing her family, and even to use a male name when talking about her partner. “Every time you come out to a new person or a new environment, it is underlaid with fear and anxiety… you never know how they’ll react”. 

“I remember coming out to my mum, ‘I think I like girls…’ and her response was very off the cuff and accepting. And even though I never officially came out to my Dad, in the end, I was lucky because my family and friends were all supporting – but not everyone’s experience is like that.”

It has been experiences such as these that have pushed Tammy towards advocate for the LGBT+ community. Her biggest motivator for change has been “to make sure my kids aren’t judged for who they love. I want them to be free to grow up to be their most authentic selves, with the ability to live their best life.”

In joining CUB, Tammy joined a workplace aligned to encouraging people to be their authentic selves at work. She found that for the first time in her career, she didn’t need to hide or play down who she was.

“CUB really has an ingrained culture of acceptance. Joining ‘Pride at CUB’ and becoming an ‘Ally’ was a real passionate point for me. It is rare to be able to go to work and do something that really lights a fire in you.”

“CUB’s people really embrace diversity. It isn’t about worrying about what makes us different – but celebrating it.”