LGBTQ+ careers support

Person gesturing and smiling at camera

If you’re LGBTQ+, Careers Network is here to support you.

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against sexuality and gender.

Disclosing your sexual orientation – whether as part of an application, the recruitment process, or in the workplace – is a personal decision. While attitudes in the workplace have improved over time, many still experience anxiety or discrimination. 

Careers Network offers support in the following ways:

  • Connecting you to employers and job opportunities that will enable you to achieve your full potential, and give you fair access to graduate roles
  • Providing information about bespoke mentoring and internship opportunities, and organisations with programmes that support LGBTQ+ people
  • Connecting you to staff, students and alumni of a similar age and/or experience, who can support you through peer or alumni mentoring, or with careers advice and guidance
  • Providing resources to help you understand what to expect from an employer and how to talk about LGBTQ+ discrimination in employment, and keep you informed about your equal rights

You can also view Careers Network’s Sex and Gender guidance page, which provides additional employment support for trans and non-binary people.

Connecting you to employers

Finding employers committed to LGBTQ+ inclusivity can be easily facilitated by attending employer events and fairs that are listed on the Careers Connect page.

You can also get a detailed overview of their corporate culture and inclusivity efforts by looking through their respective profiles on LinkedIn.

The following list shows you employers who are actively committed to LGBTQ+ inclusivity:

Resource list

Gaining work experience

While you are studying you can gain work experience which will support you in your employability.

There are many ways to do this, either through our programmes at UoB or with external organisations.

Work experience does not have to be a full-time internship — it can be something which fits around your studies during term time or the holidays.

If you’re working during term time, the University recommends you work a maximum 15 hours per week to support you in balancing your studies with work.

Resource list 

Internal opportunities at UoB 

External opportunities

  • GAY TIMES: FUTURE NOW — runs an internship programme which supports the writing careers of LGBTQ+ people
  • Spectra — offers volunteering opportunities for people of trans experience
  • LGBT Jobs — lists internship and voluntary opportunities for LGBTQ+ individuals
  • Consortium — lists internship and voluntary opportunities for LGBTQ+ people

Mentoring and Networking

Mentoring schemes and networking allows students to engage with industry professionals that are like minded, and who help initiate conversation around you and your career development.

They empower and motivate you to understand your goals and advise you on how you can achieve them.

Resource list

Internal support

External support

Driving the change within

Meet our students and graduates who come from a varied range of backgrounds, sharing their success stories and what helped them the most:

Finding employment — your rights

This section aims to provide you further advice on finding various opportunities, organisations and networks that support LGBTQ+ students and graduates.

Employers drive to have a diverse organisation has improved over time and has become more inclusive in their recruitment process.

What to look for when researching employers

It is important to research employers that you are interested in, maybe looking into their efforts for building diversity and inclusion within their organisation.

Employer 'about us' section

Browse through their about us section to get a deeper understanding of their identity.

By looking through their purpose and the programmes that they support, students and graduates would be able to understand if they resonate with the company values and if they would be able to succeed at their workplace.

Research checklist 

Colleges

Professional Services