Kate Stewart

I am the Immigration Compliance Officer for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. I am also a member of the Rainbow Network Committee where I have the role of Social Media Officer, managing our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

When I first got a permanent job, after leaving University (2010), I slowly let out the fact that I am a lesbian over time and tried to find my feet - I wasn’t exactly open from day one but I didn’t hide it either. I’d been socially ‘out’ since I was a teenager but I was aware that it was something I might have to be careful about at work. I tried to be proactive and open about it as much as possible. In places where I am not really sure what the atmosphere or work culture is, I might not necessarily come out myself, but I would definitely not compromise my opinions. As far as the University is concerned, it was probably a few weeks in before I mentioned I had a partner and I’ve been ‘out’ in all my roles since. Coming out as polyamorous was a very different experience but you’ll have to ask me in person to find out about that.

In general, I think the University is LGBT friendly. There are some really good things like the support for staff networks but plenty to work on, like the career progression of LGBTQ+ staff. I think we could significantly improve the way we train people on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion because I would say that LGBT issues are considered very differently from project to project and across departments.. The impact of the Dubai project on LGBT people was something that we flagged up straight away and that was partly because the Rainbow Network Committee got stuck in, voicing opinions about the impact that this would have.

My message to new LGBT members of staff would be to get involved with the Rainbow Network as soon as you join but also to involve your line managers early in whatever your characteristics are, whether it is your race, family or caring commitments, a same-sex partner, or a specific hobby. If you do not get a good response from them about who you are, be brave and go above them. Don’t be afraid to voice your concerns straight away. Ultimately most managers and team leaders want to be seen as nice, proactive, inclusive people. I would say come out on day one, because then if you do get a hostile reaction you can chose to leave, rather than staying and realising that you do not want to be there.