Building Safe Spaces from Home to the Workplace: ‘Sunshine Wanchaleam’, Naruemit Ambassador 2024, and the Power of DEI on the Road to WorldPride 2030
- Sunshine–Wanchaleam Wongsuwan, a human resources professional at Bangkok Industrial Gas Co., Ltd. (BIG) and Naruemit Ambassador 2024
- Sunshine uses the Naruemit Ambassador role as a platform to foster understanding of diversity and help everyone live with confidence and ease—from the family and classroom to the workplace.
- Advancing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) creates safer workplaces, enables employees to realize their full potential, and generates positive outcomes for organizations and society.
- Coming from a conservative family, open and honest conversations helped transform misunderstanding into love, pride, and support that now extends to other families.
- Sunshine hopes Thailand will become a genuine safe space for everyone and earn international confidence and support to host WorldPride 2030.
Sunshine–Wanchaleam Wongsuwan, a human resources professional at Bangkok Industrial Gas Co., Ltd. (BIG) and Naruemit Ambassador 2024, is committed to using their voice to build greater understanding of diversity. After seeing the call for Naruemit Ambassador applications, Sunshine recognized the platform as an opportunity to amplify that message. The ambassador sash became a symbol of confidence in their own strengths and a tool for advancing a vision in which every person can live with ease from the earliest moments of self-awareness—embraced by family, free to express themselves in education, and able to work without repeatedly spending energy proving who they are.
Sunshine’s central message is to open our hearts to difference and diversity. This extends beyond LGBTQIAN+ communities to people living at the margins of society, ensuring that every voice is heard and everyone is treated fairly. Sunshine places particular emphasis on advancing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) within the workplace and in collaboration with Bangkok Pride. Diversity, when supported by equity and genuine inclusion, creates a safe working environment where employees can contribute their full potential and effort. This ultimately strengthens organizational performance and provides a foundation for positive impact—from families, schools, and workplaces to the national level.
In Sunshine’s personal life, their family did not initially embrace diversity because of conservative values and expectations around carrying on the family line. Sunshine spent years working hard to prove themself, an experience that became exhausting. A turning point came through an honest conversation with their parents: no matter how much admiration or affection Sunshine received at school or in society, nothing could compare with being genuinely loved and valued by their parents. Their family’s willingness to listen became a powerful source of support that allowed Sunshine to spread their wings and grow with confidence. Today, their parents have also become advocates who help other families develop greater understanding.
Looking ahead to 2030, Sunshine hopes the world will recognize Thailand as a genuine safe space for everyone. This begins with safety and acceptance within the family and extends to workplaces that actively support diversity and equality. If the international community sees that Thailand’s social environment and workplace culture truly embrace everyone, it will build strong confidence in supporting Thailand as the host of WorldPride 2030.
Sunshine–Wanchaleam Wongsuwan is a human resources professional at Bangkok Industrial Gas Co., Ltd. (BIG) and Naruemit Ambassador 2024. Drawing on personal experiences in both family and professional life, Sunshine advances DEI, creates safer spaces, and advocates for every voice to be heard and treated fairly—while supporting Thailand’s path toward hosting WorldPride 2030.