Proud to be me

It’s been a really high profile year for the LGBT community.

Same-sex marriage dominated political debate last year before finally making its way onto the statute book. And in the media too, thousands voiced their support for our Olympic medal winning diver Tom Daly who announced via Twitter that he was in a relationship with another man.

This came after media attention had focused fairly intensely on Russia who’s controversial gay propaganda laws are being put under the international spotlight as they gear up to host this year’s Winter Olympics. The Swedish athletes who painted their finger nails in rainbow colours at the World Championships in Russia, was, personally, my favourite act of defiance in 2013!

And since then we’ve seen former Premier League footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger come out – but again only after his retirement from the game. The groundswell of support from the footballing community felt genuine and heartfelt – a long way from the reaction the late Justin Fashanu found in the 1980s and early 1990s. In fact, the cruelest jibe I heard about Hitzlsperger was: “Hats off to Thomas Hitzlsperger for his bravery today. He's admitted that he used to play for West Ham.” Maybe a positive sign that we’re moving this agenda forward?

I’m delighted that we’re once again backing LGBT History Month. I’ve blogged on this topic before and for me it’s still so important that people feel that they can be themselves when they’re at work.

I’ve worked in lots of different housing organisations over the years, mostly in London, and I had lots of LGBT colleagues. It was perfectly normal, accepted, and not much commented on.

When I came to Wolverhampton - it felt a bit different.  Whilst I didn’t hear any negative comments about sexuality and there were certainly no complaints about discrimination, it just didn’t quite feel as open and comfortable with talking about LGBT issues. I found this a bit strange if I’m honest - because everyone has the right to be “themselves” at work, and our LGBT tenants and leaseholders also need acceptance, understanding and good service.

Colleagues took part in Wolverhampton's PRIDE parade last summer

But we’ve come a long way over the past few years and I’m so proud of my colleagues who have launched our very own ‘Proud to be Me Network’.  It’s made up of colleagues, both straight and gay, who are working to make Wolverhampton Homes a gay-friendly place to work. They’re doing a wonderful job and I can already feel the culture changing. Later this month, staff are having a dress-down day, where they’re coming to work dressed in rainbow colours, we’re playing a football match with the Black Country’s only LGBT-recognised club and our offices are decked out in more rainbow flags than I think I’ve ever seen!

We’re working really closely with Stonewall and I’m really excited to see how this project comes to life over the coming months.

In the meantime, I wanted to thank Stonewall, LGBT Network Wolverhampton, the other groups we’ve worked with – and my colleagues at Wolverhampton Homes for all their energy and enthusiasm. Together we’re making a difference and let’s hope 2014 is another year of progression for the LGBT community.