Rights are easier to lose than they are to win

To mark Pride Month (1st–30th June), we spoke to Toby Larkman, Managing Director at Bath-based Wealthtime, an investment platform that supports financial advisers in managing clients’ pensions, ISAs and investments, about his journey into the city, his leadership approach and why Pride still matters.

Tell us a bit about your background and what brought you to Bath.
I’ve been at Wealthtime for about 18 months and having spent about ten years in financial services. Before that I was in professional services with PwC.

I’d never really been to Bath as an adult. I came down, had a look around and thought, actually, this is pretty nice. Now I split my time between here and London.

What does Pride Month mean to you, personally and as a business leader?
Pride and Pride Month are quite different for me. Pride’s always been there, but Pride Month made it more accessible. I wasn’t someone going to big parades when I was younger, that just wasn’t me, but Pride Month opened it up and made it visible in a way that was easier to engage with. Now, both matter. If we assume we don’t need Pride anymore, we’ll start to go backwards. Rights are much easier to lose than they are to win. From a leadership point of view, it can’t just be about one month, inclusivity needs to be championed all year round  But if there is a month dedicated to a community, we should make the effort and show our visible support for it.

Financial services is often seen as quite traditional and lacking diversity. Has that been your experience? It’s definitely the perception, but I don’t think it’s the full reality. Where I’ve seen the gap is at senior level. The diversity is there across organisations, but not always at the top. Earlier in my career, whenever firms wanted someone to lead on diversity at exec level, it always came down to the same choice. The only woman in the room or the only gay guy. That’s visibility, but it’s not inclusion. It doesn’t need to be one of us. It should be anyone.

How are you building a more inclusive culture at Wealthtime?
It starts with how you bring people in. The old model was hiring from a narrow pool and training people to fit. That doesn’t work anymore.What I want is people who want to be here. People who believe in what we’re building. We can teach skills, but you can’t teach belief in a culture. If you get it right, people don’t arrive thinking they need to fit in. They arrive knowing they already do. And actually, if you build it properly, everyone should feel a bit different. Different backgrounds, different perspectives. That way no one feels like the only ‘other’ in the room.

What steps are you taking to make sure people feel they belong once they’re through the door?
I don’t want people to feel like they have to compromise who they are to come to work. That’s not something I’m prepared to accept. We’ve invested in Bath, in the office, in training programmes, and we’re seeing the positive impact it’s had on the team and our culture. . We don’t force people into the office, we create  somewhere people want to be.  If people feel comfortable and included, they’ll choose to show up.

Pride can sometimes be criticised as performative. How do you avoid that?
I’m not a fan of rainbow washing, people can see straight through it. At the same time, visibility does matter. People need to know that support is there, sofor us, it’s about consistency. We focus on inclusion all year round, and Pride Month is a chance to amplify that, not replace it. We’ll mark it with some events, but the important thing is that it’s backed up by what we do every day.

Would you encourage your team to attend Pride events?
I wouldn’t force it. The moment you tell people they have to go, it stops being genuine. If people want to go, I’ll support it. But it needs to be their choice.

Why do you think it’s important for leaders to speak openly about this?
I grew up at a time where there weren’t many role models. A whole generation was missing, for lots of reasons. I saw an interview recently where someone said they make a conscious choice to be visible because they never saw that growing up, and  that really resonated with me. Not everyone needs a role model, but a lot of people do. If being open about who I am helps even one person, then it’s worth it. And yes, it might make some people uncomfortable, but that’s not a reason to stay quiet.

Bath Pride is still in its infancy. How important are events like this for a city like Bath?
You could argue not every place needs one if there’s something nearby. But Bath’s a big city, with a lot of young people, and it has been behind the curve. I saw something the other day that stuck with me. A group of teenage boys walking through town, joking about one of their friends wearing a Pride flag. They weren’t being particularly nasty, but they were still ridiculing it, and I thought that’s exactly why this city needs a Pride. Even if you’re not part of the community, seeing it matters. And for those who are, it shows them they’re not alone.

The smaller Pride events are powerful because they’re more accessible. They bring in people who might not go to the bigger ones. I’ll be going, personally.

To find out more about Wealthtime visit: www.wealthtime.com