WEBVTT - Pride & Prejudice: A Conversation With LGBT+ Workers

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<v Speaker 1>My name's Klobe Walley. My pronouns are they she and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a data engineer at BP.

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<v Speaker 2>My name is orn Devlin. My pronouns are hate him

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<v Speaker 2>and I work within City Global Sourcing Staffing Office.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm Jackie Roaldeger. I'm a litigation lawyer at Hogan Levels

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<v Speaker 3>International LLP. My pronouns are sheet and her.

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<v Speaker 4>My name is Harry Randall. My pronouns are hear him.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm an associate in the UK investment bank at Jeffrey's

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<v Speaker 4>International Limited.

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<v Speaker 2>I have previously worked in organizations where I wouldn't have

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<v Speaker 2>been comfortable in being out in the workplace, and I

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<v Speaker 2>suppose that that was a factor whenever I was looking

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<v Speaker 2>for new roles and new opportunities. I went into the

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<v Speaker 2>recruitment process within Seady knowing where they stood on social issues,

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<v Speaker 2>and that was a key aspect of where I wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to work next.

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<v Speaker 3>When I first into the legal industry, my Monday morning

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<v Speaker 3>routine typically consisted of rehearsing lines on the tube to

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<v Speaker 3>the much dreaded question what did you do at the weekend?

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<v Speaker 3>Because I was terrified that if I revealed too much,

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<v Speaker 3>I was out myself. At that point, I was introduced

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<v Speaker 3>to laury Ad, another law fir, and she told me

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<v Speaker 3>that overall her experiences had been very positive, and that

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<v Speaker 3>really calmed me down, and so, yeah, now I'm very

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<v Speaker 3>open about my sexuality at work and very comfortable to

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<v Speaker 3>be out.

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<v Speaker 1>When I first joined industry straight out of university, I

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<v Speaker 1>was very much closeted, having been previously very out and

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<v Speaker 1>very vocally actively involved in the community. There's this really

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<v Speaker 1>interesting statistic, actually, research from twenty eighteen that states that

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<v Speaker 1>over forty percent of young people, that's people ages eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>to twenty five go back in the closet and they

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<v Speaker 1>start their first job, And that was definitely my initial experience.

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<v Speaker 1>As soon as I realized that it was a safe space,

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<v Speaker 1>and as soon as I saw other people in the

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<v Speaker 1>industry in the office at work being out and that

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<v Speaker 1>being okay, I immediately reverted to how I had always

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<v Speaker 1>been very vocal, very active in the community.

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<v Speaker 4>Moving into the work workplace was the first time that

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<v Speaker 4>I was fully out as a gay man, and I think,

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<v Speaker 4>particularly at university, the decision to actually come out was

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<v Speaker 4>something that was taken out of my control because words

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<v Speaker 4>travel quick, so I was very keen to make sure

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<v Speaker 4>that When I moved into the workplace, I was in

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<v Speaker 4>control of that and I chose on what terms I

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<v Speaker 4>told people. I picked the right conversations at the right time,

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<v Speaker 4>because you will never stop coming out. And making sure

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<v Speaker 4>that you feel comfortable doing that around certain people is

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<v Speaker 4>driven by role models who have done that in the past.

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<v Speaker 4>You can see from their experience that actually everything turns

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<v Speaker 4>out quite all right.

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<v Speaker 3>When I started as a trainee lister at Clifford Chance,

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<v Speaker 3>I had the privilege of meeting more senior lesbian lawyers,

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<v Speaker 3>and you know, they were fine. They'd been at the

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<v Speaker 3>firm throughout their whole career, and that gave me a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of confidence, and I became the firm's LGBTQ RAP.

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<v Speaker 3>But when I left clither Chance to go to a

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<v Speaker 3>US firm, I didn't see any role models, and it

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<v Speaker 3>was quite difficult because it's very It is a distraction

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<v Speaker 3>being in the cuset. You're wasting a lot of energy

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<v Speaker 3>thinking about am I going to be found out? You know,

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<v Speaker 3>it's quite CAZy and your answers. You can't really bond

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<v Speaker 3>the people as well, because you're sort of hiding things

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<v Speaker 3>and so normal as I can't emphasize the importance of them,

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<v Speaker 3>because visibility matters. If you don't meet people like you,

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<v Speaker 3>you can start to think there's something wrong with the

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<v Speaker 3>way that you look.

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<v Speaker 2>I think when we talk about leadership and role models.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, City has had a milestone moment in the

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<v Speaker 2>financial services industry with having Jane Fraser as the first

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<v Speaker 2>female CEO of Wall Street Bank. You know that change

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<v Speaker 2>in that culture, you know, has brought with it representation

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<v Speaker 2>and progress for all marginalized groups and voices. Within our organization,

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<v Speaker 2>we're actively talking about the conversation about representation. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>in terms of LGBTQ plus people, we have a very

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<v Speaker 2>very firm target of three point five percent to reflect

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<v Speaker 2>the demographics within society. And in terms of role modeling,

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<v Speaker 2>we now have very senior leaders on the trading floor

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<v Speaker 2>here now more comfortable in coming out and being out

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<v Speaker 2>in the workplace, which has historically been misogynistic chauvinistic in sexuality.

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<v Speaker 3>It's something that I do take into consideration for everything. Really,

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<v Speaker 3>I think the best you and I initiatives. Do you

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<v Speaker 3>have an intellectual focus When we look at discrimination, we

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<v Speaker 3>have to consider the fact that characteristics can be complex

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<v Speaker 3>and interconnected, so you can't separate my blackness from my

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<v Speaker 3>gender and my sexuality. They're all interwined, and so I

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<v Speaker 3>may experience homophobia differently to a white woman on account

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<v Speaker 3>of my race, and I may experience racism differently to

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<v Speaker 3>a black man on account of my gender. Having those

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<v Speaker 3>things in mind is very, very important.

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<v Speaker 1>We simply cannot continue to do things the way that

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<v Speaker 1>has always been done because it isn't working anymore. Right. So,

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<v Speaker 1>for the energy industry, it's more about shifting mindsets and

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<v Speaker 1>getting people on board with the fact that change has

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<v Speaker 1>to happen. I think there are in each company, in

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<v Speaker 1>each business a group of dedicated allies, employees, resource networks

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<v Speaker 1>that are on board with that. I really want to

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<v Speaker 1>see that happen, But it's about how we bring the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of the industry in and meet them where they're

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<v Speaker 1>at so that we can change together.

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<v Speaker 4>What I would love to see from corporates moving forward

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<v Speaker 4>is for us to progress as some form of a

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<v Speaker 4>dual track process, in that companies have an obligation to

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<v Speaker 4>protect all of their employees, be it sexual orientation, gender,

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<v Speaker 4>or other. But I think we also if we can

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<v Speaker 4>need to try and use our platform to raise awareness

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<v Speaker 4>outside of our immediate environments. There are a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>people in the world who aren't in as fortunate positions

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<v Speaker 4>as we are to have that voice, to be able

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<v Speaker 4>to express how they feel and how they think, and

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<v Speaker 4>actually for some the decision is being taken out of

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<v Speaker 4>their hands and they don't have a say at all.

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<v Speaker 4>So I would really like to see corporates progressing sort

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<v Speaker 4>of outside of their immediate as well.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that city has definitely used its platform and

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<v Speaker 2>its authority to enact change for the betterment of the

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<v Speaker 2>ADETQ plus community. The context of Northern Ireland where we

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<v Speaker 2>have more than three thy five hundred colleagues said they

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<v Speaker 2>did put their head above the parapet to really lead

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<v Speaker 2>on the corporate campaign in the move towards marriage equality

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<v Speaker 2>in twenty eighteen, and certainly, you know, we're not afraid

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<v Speaker 2>to stand up for our colleagues and the wider at

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<v Speaker 2>LGBTQ plus community because at a very basic level it's

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<v Speaker 2>the right thing to do.

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<v Speaker 3>Just remember that Pride Month is just one month. We're

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<v Speaker 3>all we LGBTQIA for the rest of the year, and

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<v Speaker 3>I think allied with that is have pun intended having

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<v Speaker 3>regular training sessions. I think one of training sessions on

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<v Speaker 3>microaggressions and unconscious bias so useful, but you wouldn't expect

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<v Speaker 3>to be able to run the London Marathon after an

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<v Speaker 3>hour's training and more. You know, maybe having the training

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<v Speaker 3>sessions alongside appraisals or onboarding or when people are going

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<v Speaker 3>for promotions, are you much more effective and useful all

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<v Speaker 3>year round.

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<v Speaker 4>I think also making sure that Pride Month isn't viauted

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<v Speaker 4>as a tick box exercise. It's a twelve month job

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<v Speaker 4>effectively being a member of the LGBTQA community. I think

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<v Speaker 4>it takes a lot of work alongside your day job

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<v Speaker 4>to be involved in such initiatives. It can be tiring.

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<v Speaker 4>It can be something that you get to the end

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<v Speaker 4>of the day and you think, I really don't want

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<v Speaker 4>to do this, but it's the right thing to do,

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<v Speaker 4>and I'm going to do it because I believe in

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<v Speaker 4>it passionately. So making sure that you can maintain that

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<v Speaker 4>momentum is key.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the things that we like to say at

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<v Speaker 1>VP is Pride never stops. It's this huge month in June.

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<v Speaker 1>We have it every year, but it is all year

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<v Speaker 1>round for us. So I think the energy that comes

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<v Speaker 1>out of June the people that we get on board,

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<v Speaker 1>who start to understand a bit more about the community,

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<v Speaker 1>about intersectionality, about big issues that the community are facing,

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<v Speaker 1>lean into that after June and continue that work.

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<v Speaker 2>Pride is a really important deal in the calendar, but

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<v Speaker 2>it should be an opportunity to reflect on achievements throughout

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<v Speaker 2>the year, but also looking towards what is next, and

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<v Speaker 2>I think a healthy way to do that is to

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<v Speaker 2>engage with the key sector organizations. You know, for ourselves,

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<v Speaker 2>we're very part of the work we do as a

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<v Speaker 2>financial services organization, but we're not always experts on LGBTQ

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<v Speaker 2>plus issues, and that's where we partner and where we

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<v Speaker 2>collaborate with key sector organizations to ensure that we are

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<v Speaker 2>doing right by our community. And you know, in the

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<v Speaker 2>current climate, I think it's really important to remember that

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<v Speaker 2>the origins of Pride, the leaders in those days were black,

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<v Speaker 2>trans women of color, and we need to be mindful

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<v Speaker 2>and cognizant that, you know, those are groups who are

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<v Speaker 2>being heavily targeted right now, and we need to ensure

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<v Speaker 2>that we do our best to protect those groups from

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<v Speaker 2>further persecution.