I was kindly invited by the LGBTQIA+ Staff Network to attend their annual conference. I find these conferences a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our staff in all its diverse glory, but also as an opportunity for reflection. 

I am painfully aware that there are still members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are not out and do not feel comfortable being out at work. I have been reflecting on times at work when I felt that I could not truly bring who I am to work and how it made me feel. The word that came to mind for me is constraining. I know that when I was in that frame of mind, I looked over my shoulder and was not able to perform to the best of my ability. Also, I felt uncomfortable. 

That reflection led me to pause on our values, particularly inclusion. Every day we wear a lanyard that says “we care, we respect, we are inclusive”. If we are succeeding at being inclusive, than everyone would feel comfortable to bring their whole selves to work which was the theme of this year’s conference. 

It is incumbent upon all of us to identify factors in our environment that inhibit full inclusion and to act upon them. It is important that we all feel we can call it out behaviours that lead to people feeling constrained. 

At the conference, David Bridle our Chief Medical Officer, was very clear about the Trust Board’s belief in and support for our values. This simply says - we mean it and we are here to support anyone in the Trust or the communities we serve if they have a different experience. 

Eileen Taylor