Who we are and how we work are one and the same. At least, this is true when equity and authenticity are explicit in the values and practices of the workplace. And when I say values, I’m alluding to something more than mission statements, written policies and statutory staff training modules. The truth I’m more familiar with has been the need to mask who I am in order to comply with the social norms of the workplace thereby putting a lot of energy into avoiding encountering ignorance and discrimination at best, bullying and abuse at worst. At the same time, I have benefitted from several privileges within the same social constructs. Opportunities have come to me as a white able-bodied man educated for free during a brief political climate of social justice, new equality legislation and social policy. I continue to feel very grateful to my forebears who put their heads above the parapet to speak up for what is good and right, risking loss of personal safety, job security and the support of their families. I’m writing as a gay man who was born into a Britain where homosexuality was still illegal, who taught in schools pretending to be a heterosexual man, who eventually opted for honesty and visibility in the era of Clause 28. I left teaching in favour for campaigning for social justice and creating the possibility of dignity, growth and healing, when my peers were being shunned, demonised and sometimes arrested in the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
This is why I now choose to deliver workplace training in LGBT Allyship and related group facilitation around building healthy harmonious and authentic workplaces. Following improvements in equality legislation of the early 2000s, it would be easy to think that there is no longer a need to even address the LGBT employee experience. However, there is evidence of increased hate crime and decreased levels of tolerance of a diversity of expression in what it means to live a non-heteronormative life. The recent court ruling around the definition of the term woman and how it relates to same-sex public spaces and trans-women has reignited fears around LGBT equality and resulted in a polarisation of debate in the media, often distilled down to the provision of public toilets, eligibility and safety.
Good workplace policies and practices underpinning equality and social justice need to be reviewed to reflect current needs and provide opportunities for staff training in LGBT allyship and the exploration of what it means to advocate for a truly diverse workforce, where we all feel safe enough to express our whole-self, without the fear of micro-aggressions, loss of career advancement or even abuse. If we advocate for greater authenticity at work and believe that our culture and personal experience are relevant to the work we do, then we need to create a forum for the exploration of what it means to be openly LGBT and give all employees an opportunity to consider personal beliefs and values, how they relate to diversity and equal opportunity, to ask questions without embarrassment and to encourage a conversation of empathy and kindness, along side the truth of difference, the inevitability of conflict and the possibility of a harmonious collaboration. I facilitate such conversations. I hold a calm safe space for such processes to take place. I bring 30 odd years experience as a gay employee, trainer and manager to the conversation, without claiming to know all the answers, but feeling authentic and skilled enough to advocate for LGBT allyship.
Do you provide LGBT allyship training? Have you considered how protected characteristics relate to the everyday interactions and collaborations of the workplace? How are you embodying a listening and compassionate approach to the promotion of diversity and authenticity?
I am a mindfulness coach who is open to invitations to approach this challenge with kindness and wisdom.
