‘It took me a very long time to understand who I was, what I liked and what I wanted out of my life’

Rakshet Sachdev, Senior Associate at Reckitt, spoke with myGwork about his work at the consumer goods company and the development of the company’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group.

He also shared his coming out story, how it sparked a passion for promoting authenticity and openness in the workplace, and discussed his hopes for the future of LGBTQ+ equality.

Being raised by a close-knit, loving, and like-minded family gave Rakshet the confidence and support he needed growing up, especially given the conservative values of Bangkok, his home at the time. Though he described his childhood and teen years as very happy, he experienced the same confusion and difficulty many LGBTQ+ people go through, but in an environment where discussion and representation of such identities were quite rare. As a result, Rakshet didn’t come to terms with identifying as gay until his early 20s. Even years later, he remains mindful of how his behaviour and lifestyle may impact his family back in Thailand.

“A lot of what you do reflects on your family,” he explained. “My mom lives in Bangkok, so you really don’t want to rock the boat per se. Because I want to think about the happiness of family who still live in Bangkok who have to deal with that.”

It is perhaps this great level of social awareness and empathy that initially sparked his interest in encouraging inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. In 2018, Rakshet attended a One Young World event on behalf of Reckitt and found himself presented with the chance to express himself to his colleagues.

“Someone reached out to me to see if I would be open to speaking on a panel about religion – they wanted to know my experience and how it impacted my daily life,” he recalled. “I remember thinking about this opportunity and using it to basically come out publicly to anybody in the room. So, I said that I’m a practising Hindu gay man – on stage. I had colleagues in the audience who I’d never come out to and I felt this weight being lifted off me.”

Beyond being an incredible standout moment in his life, it was also transformational in motivating Rakshet to support his community. Immediately after the event, a meeting took place for colleagues to discuss what changes they wanted to see the company make. Inspired, Rakshet considered the impact he could have on fellow staff and future members of Reckitt.

“I didn’t want to do anything externally; I wanted to do it internally. I wanted to be able to be open at work and for other people to feel they could also be open at work. So, I pitched the idea of starting our first employee resource group (ERG) and it being an LGBTQ+ one.”

Rakshet took great pride in the creation of this ERG, even considering it the highlight of his career so far. Providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ staff to bring up any issues they would like resolved or developments they would like incorporated was a way for him to provide a voice and a form of representation that was lacking in his childhood and teenage years. He expressed hope that encouraging openness in this group, would inspire people to speak up or even realise things about themselves – particularly keeping in mind the journey of self-realisation he embarked on growing up.

“At the time I was growing up you didn’t see representation. No one spoke about what it meant to be gay or how it was being accepted,” he said. “So, it took me a very long time to understand who I was or what I liked and what I wanted out of my life.”

Alongside his role as a senior associate at Reckitt, in which he oversees the scoping of external partnerships, suppliers, and new technologies to expand the company portfolio, Rakshet took on a main role in the employee resource group he helped establish. In parallel to his primary career path, he looks at external companies and encourages the creation of similar LGBTQ+ focus groups in an effort to inspire openness and authenticity for as many workers as possible.

“My role specifically is looking after the Asian, Middle East, and African regions,” Rakshet explained. “When countries want to set up local ERGs or Inclusion Boards, I would help them with the LGBTQ+ specific part of it. I want to make sure that people around the world have an avenue to reach out to someone if they want to talk or to feel more comfortable being more authentic and open in the workplace.”

Looking forward, Rakshet envisions a world where authenticity is instantly accessible to everybody. By creating more inclusive work environments that encourage people to be themselves straight away or developing existing spaces to demonstrate progression, businesses and employees alike will thrive.

“I would really love to see people being openly authentic about who they are on day one and not feeling shy about sharing it. Even if someone has been at a company for twenty years, I’d love them to feel free enough to talk openly.”

Reckitt is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about jobs at Reckitt.