SHRLG Diversity Series: Session 2 – Diversity, Up Close & Personal – Trans and Non-Binary Visibility

On Thursday the 30^th March, the Scottish HR Leadership Group, in conjunction with Executive Search specialists FWB Park Brown, were delighted to host the second of the 2022 Diversity series, “Up Close & Personal – Trans and Non-Binary Visibility”, with a number of guest speakers including Amy Stanner, who shared her life story, outlining the real and positive impact that the workplace can have on supporting people making transition.

Amy held various senior leadership roles with Barclays throughout her career, becoming the face of the organisations LGBT+ community and public initiatives. She spoke candidly about the support she received from all areas of the business and how work became her “safe place”, somewhere she could take support and use that to channel her focus and energy throughout her career. This led her to become an Ambassador for Barclays’ Spectrum network, which was set up 16 years ago to promote and support diversity and inclusion in the bank and now has over 2,500 members globally.

For more information regarding some of the topics that Amy discussed, please see:

https://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts/lgbt-at-work

https://home.barclays/news/2018/09/amys-journey/

We also heard some powerful life experiences from speakers sharing their stories in parenting children who have identified as both non-binary and trans and both the practical challenges this can present, alongside the societal barriers that still need broken down today with regards to attitudes.

The Diversity Series has been designed to challenge perceptions and will comprise of ten different stories over the course of the year and be held on the last Thursday of each month. We are also pleased to have Mandy Laurie of Burness Paull LLP joining each session to provide insight on the legal impacts of each discussion topic.

We live in a diverse world and only by exploring and ‘walking in others shoes’ can we begin to understand and appreciate our similarities and differences, and how diversity affects our working lives.

For business it is critical to engage in conversation, to learn and listen to life experiences in order to provide a supportive and safe environment for all employees.

We look forward to seeing you at our future seminars over the course of the year.

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There are a number of organisations that are well placed to support, some of which will cost, and others who are able to provide free resources and consultancy including GIRES (https://www.gires.org.uk/) – a UK wide organisation whose purpose is to improve the lives of trans and gender diverse people of all ages, including those who are non-binary and non-gender, and LGBT Youth Scotland (https://www.lgbtyouth.org.uk/).

For further details on the Diversity series, or for more information on the Scottish HR Leadership Group, please contact Alix Meekison on secretary@scottishhrlg.com.