LEWIS BELL

LEWIS BELL IS A SENIOR

TECHNICAL SOURCER AT

BOOKING.COM AND A DEI

SPECIALIST

(He/Him)

WHO ARE YOU?

Professionally, I am a Senior Technical

Sourcer at booking.com, but my path wasn’t a

straight line. I grew up in the West Country

of England, where I often felt like “the only

gay in the “village”.

Before entering the tech world, I spent

years in the travel industry as a travel rep in

places like Ibiza and Italy, and later as long-

haul cabin crew. It was during those years

abroad that I finally felt the freedom to come

out and embrace my identity.

I now live with my fiancé and beagle, Elsa,

in Manchester. My background is a mix of

professional drive and a personal refusal to be

silenced. I’ve spent my career realising that

you can’t separate who you are from what you

do, and I’ve made it my mission to ensure

nobody else has to try.

YOU’RE THE UK CHAIR OF B.PROUD,

THE LGBTQ+ ERG (EMPLOYEE

RESOURCE GROUP) OF BOOKING.COM.

WHAT DOES B.PROUD DO?

We are the voice and the safety net for the

LGBTQ+ community within our UK offices.

We don’t just “do events”; we create a culture

where you don’t have to leave your identity at

the front door.

Internal Advocacy: We work closely with

leadership to ensure our internal policies —

from healthcare to parental leave — are truly

inclusive of all identities and family

structures.

Education & Awareness: We run open

tables and workshops to help allies

understand the lived realities of their queer

colleagues.

The “Tribe” Factor: We provide a space

where, if the world feels a bit heavy or a news

060 | PRIDE LIFE | SUMMER 2026 | PRIDELIFEGLOBAL.COM

cycle is particularly tough on our community,

you have people who “get it” to talk to.

Events: Some of the events we have put on

include queer walking tours, quizzes,

volunteering days, creative workshops, and

much, much more

WHY DOES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

MATTER BOTH IN THE CORPORATE

AND IN THE WIDER WORLD?

In the wider world, it’s about survival. In the

corporate world, it’s about integrity. If you’re

in a workspace where you have to hide your

weekend plans or change the pronouns of

who you’re dating, you’re operating at 50%

capacity. Inclusion is the oxygen that lets

“PRIDE IS PROTEST

WITH A SOUNDTRACK.

YOU CANNOT HAVE THE

PARTY WITHOUT THE

POLITICS”

people actually breathe and do their best

work. Without it, a company is just a group

of people wearing masks.

HOW DO WE CREATE A CLIMATE OF

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION?

It’s not just about “diversity training” videos.

It’s about radical empathy.

Call it out: If a joke feels off, we say

something.

Listen more than we speak: Especially to

those whose identities intersect — like queer

people of colour or those with disabilities.

Small Wins: It’s as simple as putting your

“INCLUSION IS THE

OXYGEN THAT LETS

PEOPLE ACTUALLY

BREATHE AND DO

THEIR BEST WORK”

pronouns in an email signature or as big as

changing company-wide healthcare policies.

AND WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE?

The “L”, “G”, and “B” have seen significant

legal wins, but we cannot leave the rest of our

family behind.

Trans Rights: We are seeing a terrifying

rollback in rhetoric and rights for trans and

non-binary people. That is the front line.

Global Consistency: It’s great to be out in

Manchester or London, but we need to

ensure our community is safe when they

travel to the 60+ countries where it’s still

illegal to exist.

WHAT’S A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE

OF LEWIS BELL?

It’s a bit of a whirlwind! My day is a juggle

between my “day job” and my B.Proud

responsibilities. I might be in a high-level

strategy meeting one hour and mentoring a

junior staff member who is struggling with

their identity the next.

My main job is to source the best people

for booking.com to help us build our travel

platform globally. I lead our back end craft,

creating sourcing strategies, ensuring the

team knows what to focus on and upskilling

them on diversity sourcing and new

technologies.

PRIDE: PARTY OR POLITICS?

It’s a protest with a soundtrack. You cannot

have the party without the politics. The

“party” is our way of showing the world that

we are joyful and resilient despite the

barriers. But the “politics” is the reason we’re

there in the first place. If we forget the

politics, we’re just a parade. If we forget the

party, we lose the joy that sustains the fight.