“I would never want my sexuality to define me as a person or in the workplace” – Richard Brown, Scottish Widows

Richard Brown, Senior Manager at Scottish Widows, speaks to Health protection about how his sexuality does not define him in the workplace, the importance of being open about one’s sexuality, and how more and more people are participating in company conference calls where LGBTQ+ colleagues share their experiences.

What have your experiences been regarding attitudes towards LGBT communities in the industry?

I have worked in the security industry for ten years and in the financial services sector for almost 20 years and have always felt supported in relation to my sexuality.

To be completely honest, I’ve never felt like it’s played a role in my career, and I personally feel it should. I would never want my sexuality to define me as a person or in the workplace, just as heterosexuality doesn’t define the majority.

It is only a very small part of my role at work, but the fact that Scottish Widows promotes an inclusive environment in the workplace gives me the foundation to be successful in my role.

How have attitudes in the industry evolved?

The attitudes have evolved completely since I started.

A simple example: here at Scottish Widows and the wider Lloyds Banking Group, we have used one of our existing networks to deviate from the usual rainbow theme and use ‘Out and Proud’ as our identity.

Although I absolutely believe the rainbow symbol is important, it is important to me to be able to be open about my sexuality and to work in an environment where I can be proud of it.

As part of Out and Proud, while still focused on the core principle of promoting an inclusive workplace, we have moved to work with our allies to highlight and support the importance of not only the “L and the G,” but also the “B, T, and Q.”

Over the last 18 months, we have hosted all-employee conference calls in the insurance division of our company, where colleagues felt comfortable enough to share their stories and experiences, something that would have been challenging just a few years ago.

We are seeing more and more colleagues joining these calls, not because they identify as LGBT+, but because they have a son, daughter, sibling, parent, etc. who identifies as LGBTQ+ and can join in to learn more.

From a process perspective, we have seen progress in underwriting and even in our systems that support gender identity – something that wasn’t even considered a few years ago.

We can now highlight our pronouns in email signatures if we choose to, or log our personal information about our sexuality for data analysis purposes. We also now have a dedicated DE&I senior lead to help us drive the agenda, which shows how committed we are as a company to promoting an inclusive workplace.

What is the sector doing well and where does it need to improve its performance?

Although much progress has been made, there is still room for further improvement.

At Out and Proud, we have a number of goals to advance the LGBTQ+ agenda. Engagement scores are generally lower among LGBTQ+ colleagues, and only about three-quarters of colleagues in our department are open about their sexual orientation.

Understanding the “why” is never easy, but we continue to do everything we can to ensure our colleagues can be themselves at work.

Do you feel encouraged and empowered to bring your whole personality to your work?

I feel able to put my full effort into the work, sometimes even too much. It is extremely important to me that I can fulfil my role and I have never felt that I couldn’t.

As I lead and support over 300 colleagues, it is critical for me to demonstrate this and serve as a role model. And I believe that when you create an inclusive culture, you get the best out of your team.

In addition, I am privileged to work with my manager who is very passionate about driving the broader DE&I agenda, which only motivates me to want to do more in this area.