It’s hard to believe just how much has happened in the space of a year. But, amid all the noise, it’s important to recognise that some of these changes have gradually undermined the progress it has taken decades to achieve on some incredibly important issues.

One of the trends that fits this mould has undoubtedly been the abandonment of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – and programmes designed to support the LGBTQIA community, in particular. Hundreds of companies are quite publicly reversing on their DEI programmes and, in the US, defunding of services for marginalised communities demonstrates a worrying trend.

While in Scotland and the wider UK the rollback has not been as extensive, there have still been challenging moments for marginalised communities – not least the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of women a few months ago. Whatever you think of that decision, it would be fair to say that it has left some communities feeling more excluded than they already were.

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