Session A1: Being BAME and LGBT in the Workplace

Facilitators | Nathan Alleyne, Senior Memberships Programmes Manager, Stonewall

Serrena Tanna, Empowerment and Global Programmes Officer, Stonewall

Speakers | Sanisha Wynter, Race Equity and Inclusion Advisor, National Union of Students

Mukesh Nair, Operations Specialist, Risk Management, Morgan Stanley

Session Outline

Terminology

Why are we talking about race and LGBT?

Intersectionality & Privilege

Guest Speaker

Exercise: Case Studies

Exercise: Action Planning

Terminology

LGBT

The acronym for Black, Asian and minority ethnicBAME

PoC

QTIPOC

The acronym for lesbian, gay, bi and trans

The acronym People of Colour

The acronym for Queer, trans, intersex, people of colour

Why Are We Talking About Race &

LGBT?

How many of the role models above did you recognise?

Can you name any other BAME and/or PoC LGBT role models?

Are there any BAME and/or PoC LGBT role models that you know personally?

HALF of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people (51 per cent) have experienced

discrimination or poor treatment from others in their local LGBT community because of their

ethnicity. This number rises to three in five black LGBT people (61 per cent).

17 PER CENT of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people, have faced domestic abuse

from a partner in the last year, compared to 11 per cent of LGBT people overall.

27 PER CENT of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people (27 per cent) aren’t out to

anyone about their sexual orientation.

45 PER CENT of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people, attend LGBT-specific venues

or events in their local community at least once a month, compared to 22 per cent overall.

BAME LGBT People in Britain

BAME and LGBT in Britain: Health

52 PER CENT of LGBT people said they’ve experienced depression in the last

year.

62 PER CENT of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people said the same.

5 PER CENT of LGBT people have been pressured to access services to

question or change their sexual orientation when accessing healthcare services.

9 PER CENT of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people said the same.

Cultural Pressures

Isolation from family, church, community

Hyper-masculinity

Interpretation of faith

Family shame within a collectivist community

Colonial overhang- discriminatory laws still held up in countries of origin

Challenges BAME LGBT people face in work

Discrimination during the recruitment process

Unconscious bias

Racial harassment from colleagues

Breaking the glass ceiling

GENDER

EXPRESSION

NATIONALITY

SEXUAL

ORIENTATION

DIS/ABILITY

GENDER

IDENTITY

FAITH

TRANS

STATUS

Me

CLASS

RACE

GENDER

EXPRESSION

RACECLASS

NATIONALITY

SEXUAL

ORIENTATIONDIS/ABILITY

GENDER

IDENTITY

FAITH

TRANS

STATUS

Me

Intersecting Discriminations

“As we transition, we may move between different racial stereotypes – and face different, sometimes

threatening responses. We may be hypersexualised as demure Asian women or be perceived as

threatening Black men. Our trans identity may add another dimension to racial fetishisation.”

- Gendered Intelligence

“I was raised Muslim, and my faith is something I have struggled with because it’s common to hear

that you can’t identify as queer or trans and be religious, as if it’s a contradiction. On top of that, I

hear a lot of casual Islamophobia in trans spaces, and it doesn’t make me feel safe. I’m already a

minority as a person of colour so I feel like if I call it out, I’m becoming a bigger target by identifying

as Muslim. I can’t truly be myself and that makes me sad considering I’ve come this far to be

accepted as trans.”

- GIRES

Privilege

Privilege is an advantage available only to a particular person or a group of people.

In the context of social equality, it means some people are treated better than others

based on their race, sexual orientation, class, gender identity, physical ability or another

characteristic

Many of us have privilege in one way or another.

What is an Ally?

An ally understands that people experience discrimination based on their identity.

They understand that they are privileged and use the power that comes from that privilege to ensure

others feel included, celebrated and empowered.

Collectively, allies create workplaces where everyone feels able to be their authentic selves.

They do this by individually choosing to view experiences and environments through the eyes of

others, and committing to bring about positive change via the way they think, relate to others and

act.

Positive

Negative

Passive Active

“I don’t mind who

you are I treat

everyone the same”

Visible, active

leaders who

recognise and use

their privilege

Not challenging

racism, transphobic

banter or bi erasure

(passive

acceptance)

Being actively

homophobic,

transphobic, racist

sexist…

Active Allyship

Being BAME and LGBT in the Workplace

Speaker | Mukesh Nair, Operations Specialist, Risk Management, Morgan Stanley

It’s a great idea…NOT!

We are family!

Till death do us part!

To be or not to be

Fully blended now…

Visibility and Role Models

Visibility and Role Models

Being BAME and LGBT in the Workplace

Speaker | Sanisha Wynter, Race Equity and Inclusion Advisor, National Union of Students

Who am I?

• British born Jamaican, Christian and working class background

• Attended school during Section 28

• Came out as Bi at 22

• Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression at 24

My experiences in the workplace

As a Black Bi woman

“highly visible but invisible”

“…my sexuality is not a phase”

“I cannot pick a side”

Almost two in five bi people (38 per cent) aren’t out to anyone at work about their sexual orientation

One in ten black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT staff (10 per cent) have similarly been physically attacked because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, compared to three per cent of white LGBT staff

One in eight black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT employees (12 per cent) have lost a job in the last year because of being LGBT, compared to four per cent of white LGBT staff.

More than a third of LGBT staff (35 per cent) have hidden or disguised that they are LGBT at work in the last year because they were afraid of discrimination.

Stats from Stonewall LGBT in Britain – Work Report, 2018

Why support your BAME/LGBT staff?

Supporting your BAME/LGBT staff

How can you improve as an ally? • Be conscious of privilege and unconscious bias• Listen to those with lived experiences• Keep informed on potential barriers• Do your research to learn more about the history of

the struggle in which you are participating• Uplift the voices of those without your privilege

How can you improve your workplace?

• Challenge exclusive practice

• Monitor the impact on different groups

• Alter processes that encourage “group think”

• Acknowledge and celebrate LGBT and BAME history

• Embed methods that allow for everyone’s voice to be heard

Supporting your BAME/LGBT staff

Thinking out of the box

Remember to think creatively and be adaptable in your approach when:• Working with staff networks• Creating learning and development

opportunities• Celebrating awareness days or

months

Case Study Activity

Using the case studies on your tables, get into trios (or pairs) and

discuss the actions that you would take if these examples played out in

your workplace context.

You have 5 minutes to discuss ad develop three actions that you would

take before we feed back to the room.

You can use the following questions as prompts:

What are the implications of this?

How might you go about resolving this?

Can you think of any long term solutions?

Action Planning

What one action will you take to:

Ensure that your workplace maintains an inclusive

environment for LGBT staff from diverse backgrounds?

Empower and support BAME staff in your organisation?

Engage effective and meaningful allies in your

organisation?

Thank You!