Media – Inclusive Diversity

The Role of LGBT Employee Networks in the City

02/2011

Below is an article for which Sasha Scott was interviewed due to her involvement in the inclusion and diversity field in the City .
The article was written by Karen Higgingbottom who is a freelance journalist and contributes to The Guardian and People Management, and was published on 28th February 2010.

Over the past 10 years, the working culture of the City has become less homophobic and more open to gay and lesbian employees. A number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employee networks have been created, and this article examines the effect these organisations have had on the organisational culture of financial services firms.

It has not traditionally been easy to be "out" and gay in the competitive working environment of the City. One City worker, an investment banker for more than 20 years who came out seven years ago, told Complinet: "I've experienced many instances of homophobic banter over many years, especially in the 1970s/1980s/1990/s but these have reduced significantly in the last decade." He believed that firms were working internally to improve the case for diversity. "They typically use the argument that it's good business. I personally feel that is a bit of a cop-out as I feel the argument should be more 'it's right'. Still, it's an undoubtedly better working environment now."

The change in the working culture for LGBT employees within the financial services sector was illustrated by research which campaign group Stonewall carried out recently. Four of the top 10 firms in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers 2011 survey, which recognises organisations that have created inclusive workplace for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff, were financial services firms.

David Shields, director of workplace programme for Stonewall, said: "Financial services firm are doing quite well in terms of supporting LGBT employees. In the 1980s, the environment for LGBT people wasn't so good and many of financial services firms recognised they needed to get their house in order."

Sasha Scott, managing director of the consultancy Inclusive Diversity, agreed that the more relaxed attitudes towards LGBT employees in financial services reflected societal changes. "These changes are reflected in terms of how the City now operates around that community," she said.

Employee networks

John McLellan, associate director for diversity consultancy Schneider Ross, whose clients include Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows, said that the creation of LGBT employee networks was one way to create a supportive environment for LGBT employees. He said: "The networks give LGBT employees a chance to be open about themselves." A further advantage of such groups was that HR professionals could approach them for comment on particular policies. Scott argued that there was a clear business case for financial services firms to support LGBT employee networks. "It's about recruitment and retention. If you make sure that people are comfortable at work then they are more likely to stay."

Stonewall's research, which was carried out with 107 lesbian, gay and bisexual staff from private and public sector organisations, backed this up. It found that participants overwhelmingly reported an improvement in their performance when they were able to focus their energy on work rather than concealing their sexual orientation. Scott said it also made financial sense for firms to support LGBT employee networks. "These networks have a better understanding of how to do business with LGBT clients and can help organisations target the 'pink pound'."

McLellan said that an LGBT network was unlikely to function properly without board or senior management endorsement. "Managers at other levels have to see a 'signal' that this is something that really is important. Otherwise it will be lip service and won't get anywhere. So, for instance, staff may wish to be released from other work to attend a meeting, or to travel to a meeting."

Cameron Cartmell, partner, real estate, hospitality and construction for Ernst & Young, said that the accountancy firm had had a LGBT network called EYGLES in place for 13 years and explained. "One of the major reasons our network is so successful is the level of senior sponsorship within the organisation. I took on co-chairmanship of the network three years ago and I'm a partner. In addition, I'm also a member of the diversity and inclusiveness steering group." He added that the firm also had a number of partners, directors and mentors who were openly gay and who acted as role models and mentors to other LGBT employees.

Shields acknowledged that one of the challenges presented by LGBT networks was the diversity of groups represented under one umbrella. "It can be a challenge. We find there is a danger that networks can be predominantly made up of gay men and not particularly inclusive of lesbians and transgender individuals."

Case study: Lloyds Banking Group

In 2006, Lloyds TSB set up its LGBT employee network after conducting research into how LGBT employees felt in the workplace.

Fiona Cannon, director, diversity and inclusion at Lloyds Banking Group, told Complinet: "What was clear from the research from our focus groups was that people wanted support and to talk to like-minded colleagues. People were nervous about being 'out' at work and how that would go down with colleagues and line managers."

The LGBT network was set up by employees and supported with funding from the bank, Cannon said. "In the beginning, it was very much a support network and about building up the confidence of that community. What came out of the research is that employees wanted us to communicate about LGBT issues. We identified senior members of staff who were prepared to be open about their sexuality."

Cannon said that these senior role models had helped to create a culture of openness.

"The fact is that our senior people were prepared to come out and talk about their experience. The brilliant thing about our senior role models is they've also become mentors to other people within the organisation and they are prepared to answer questions from other LGBT colleagues."

The banking group has also embedded diversity, including LGBT issues, into its management training. Cannon said: "We now have a management licence which means that you cannot be a line manager or promoted to be a manager unless you've gone through this licence, which involves training modules on diversity including LGBT issues."

The LGBT employee network, now known as Rainbow network, was relaunched following the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS. It has high-level board support, with Helen Weir, group executive director of retail division for Lloyds Banking Group, as its executive sponsor. Cannon explained: "Helen Weir chairs our diversity steering group, which is made up of a range of people such as the chairs of our Rainbow group, our diversity and inclusiveness representatives and male and female LGBT employees who represent different areas of the business including HR. This steering group oversees our LGBT programme."

She said that the Rainbow group had also influenced Lloyds Banking Group's products and services. "For example, we had a steering group meeting where we discussed customers and making sure we're seen as the bank for LGBT community. We've issued an advertisement with a gay couple in it and we were the first financial services institution to do this. Rainbow was an integral part of the discussions around how we could start to move more into the LGBT customer space."

Cannon accepted that gay women were less vocal than their gay male counterparts in the workplace. "That is a big challenge for us. Gay women are less vocal than gay men and that is demonstrated through their involvement in the networks and the comfort level in terms of being out in the organisation."

The bank has addressed this challenge by having one gay woman and one gay man as co-chairs of its Rainbow group, and Cannon said: "We wanted gay women to be visible within this group." All this hard work does seem to have paid off. This year, the banking group was recognised as the private sector employer in terms of how it treats its LGBT staff in Stonewall's Top 100 employers."

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