Celebrating LGBT rights

When I worked in a local authority housing department in north London over 15 years ago there was a culture of openness and acceptance around gay and lesbian issues. Two senior management team members were in stable same sex relationships. It was no big deal. Generally most LGBT colleagues seemed comfortable being out. They chatted openly about their partners and their lives (or not, depending on personal preference). I suppose, through this experience, I gained some insight into some of the issues faced by same sex couples; one of whom had a boy at school who was bullied because he had “two mummies”.

I somehow expected all quasi-local government workplaces to be the same until I came to Wolverhampton. Don’t get me wrong:  I have never seen or had reported to me any discrimination or harassment, no unsympathetic behaviour, in fact: no issues have come to my attention.  Our policies on housing appear to be LGBT aware. And that’s what I mean really – everything was okay but there seemed to be a culture of invisibility around LGBT issues. So I am left doubting whether LGBT tenants and applicants feel comfortable in discussing issues with us which could reveal/highlight their sexuality. Similarly, I wonder whether colleagues are not mentioning their sexuality because they feel there might not be an understanding response and whether managers are sufficiently comfortable and can deal appropriately with LGBT human resource questions. No reason to suppose negatives in these areas, but important that I ensure the overall climate is welcoming, supportive, understanding and positive.

So we are working with Stonewall on a campaign to support more LBGT awareness and I am pleased to already feel the climate is changing. This month we’re celebrating LGBT history month. Our offices and shops are decorated with rainbow flags, we’re celebrating the LGBT movement’s history in our internal publications and next Friday we’ve got a rainbow dress down day for staff.

You’ll see from the picture above I’ve also been keen to give this campaign my lead and personal support (I'm in the middle!). This week has seen a fantastic (and long overdue) landmark for the LGBT movement but there is still much further to go. I am proud to support this campaign and for Wolverhampton Homes to be contributing towards moving this agenda forwards in our city.