Richard Thomas, a business-to-business events manager at Legal & General Retail, speaks to Health & Protection about how attitudes have changed over the years to the point where colleagues have become natural allies.
What have been your own experiences with regard to attitudes towards LGBTQ+ communities in the sector?
I started work in the corporate world in the early noughties. I think most people probably know I’m gay before I tell them but, back then, I sensed I needed to dim my light a little. I felt I shouldn’t be as exuberant and gregarious as I am in my private life for fear it might turn people off.
Twenty years on though, I really don’t need to think about all this. My career has gone from a very small company, to a regional building society, to Legal & General. So, the scale of the environments has grown as my career has progressed. And I’m very happy to say that I now feel very comfortable to be myself. It was so hard not to be.
It’s great to be part of an environment that nurtures and celebrates how we’re different but also the same. Legal & General affords a really safe space to allow me to be myself.
With my previous employers, I think I was the only person knowingly part of the LGBTQ+ community. That said, I don’t only tend to gravitate towards people of my own sexual orientation, just people whose company I find engaging. It’s good to work for an organisation that looks beyond that.
How have attitudes evolved in the sector?
Across the financial services sector, I think that diversity and inclusion (D&I) is so central to the conversation now. Not only in this sector though; also in advertising, casting, on committees and boards.
There seems this tangible recognition now that D&I is an essential requirement for the world to grow. So, as part of all that, I think the evolution of attitudes has been a natural progression.
To give a personal example of this, when I initially told my mum I was gay she was incredibly shocked. I’m still surprised to this day that she didn’t already guess – I mean really?
A couple of decades later, I remember having a discussion with a friend of my mum. She said that when I’d first told my mum way back then, she just didn’t know how to be around me. Her friend told her there was no need to be any different. It’s strange to think how my mum was wrestling with such things because, as time went on, she became a staunch protester against homophobia.
I think, like my mum, a big proportion of society have embraced diversity to such an extent that they’ve become natural allies. And that’s not just about flying a rainbow flag. It’s about standing up for the rights of others.
What is the sector doing well and where does it need to up its game?
Where the financial services sector is doing well – it’s the kind of things I’ve already mentioned around evolution of attitudes. Awareness raising in organisations helps, but the support shown during things like Pride Month should be a year-round thing.
I feel that it is at Legal & General, thanks to initiatives such as the Legal & General LGBTQ+ Allies Network. Via a Teams channel, members of this network can share opinions and thoughts. It provides support if a problem is faced by someone, including a forum for debate and putting forward a collective voice to senior management.
Right now, there’s a discussion group happening on what Legal & General could do to make Generation Z feel more comfortable entering the workforce, when they happen to be part of the LGBTQ+ community.
I think Generation X – my cohort – is very different to Generation Z. I feel like we fought the fight to allow Generation Z to express their opinions more openly and be open about their sexuality. But this has led to a different perspective on gender identity and organisations and attitudes need to evolve again.
Do you feel encouraged and enabled to bring your whole self to work?
I certainly do now. The make up of the business – in the department I work in – has changed in the eight plus years I’ve been here and is very diverse. I feel comfortable to be myself and to speak up. And I never feel excluded.
On a final note, I’d like to add that with things like Pride Month and addressing LGBTQ+ matters, there’s a balancing act. I’m a man who happens to be gay. Not a gay man. I don’t choose to define my life according to my sexual orientation. And I don’t think that people around you should do that either – in work or personal life. For example, when people employ stereotypes for the sake of humour.
I think sometimes people just make statements without thinking, and should be mindful of what they say before they say it. Personally, I don’t feel it necessary to be reminded I’m gay all the time.
