Pete Collins

I’ve been working at the University of Birmingham since February 2020 as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Students. I work on various initiatives to make the University accessible to everyone including training, events, and engaging with University networks to improve student outcomes. I have spoken with some of the staff networks to see how we can help, and I have consulted with them about the new equality scheme. I have spoken with the Rainbow Network to understand their priorities and how we can work together to improve things.

I think it is important for the University to have LGBT profiles for a number of reasons. The concept of LGBT rights is still a relatively recent development and there are many areas in which society is playing catch-up, for example awareness of the challenges the LGBT community faces, not least in terms of basic human dignity, given the current rise in hate crime in the UK. LGBT rights are being rolled back on a variety of fronts, so given our place as an international university I feel we have a role to play in advancing equality worldwide.

I identify as gay cisgender male and I am autistic, therefore I am a keen advocate for intersectional understandings of LGBT issues. I feel I have a voice in the University but there is more that needs to be done. We need to continue to raise awareness with people who wouldn’t ordinarily engage. I haven’t always been open about my sexuality; I didn’t come out to people outside of immediate friends and family until I went to university. I had a number of jobs before that and I was in the closet because I grew up in a community where homophobia was rife, particularly in schools, and I carried a lot of that fear, shame, and distrust with me into my early work life. When I went to university it was a different story; I was provided with a more open minded community, which gave me the space to become more open about myself. Since then I have been open in every job I have had.

In an ideal world we should all be open about our sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace, but there are challenges which mean this may not be safe. It’s a personal decision to make but if someone is in the fortunate position to work in a place where you feel supported to be yourself then you are in a powerful position to make a difference. It’s important for people to know that being open about your sexual orientation or gender identity can improve things not just for the LGBT community but also for other minority groups, which is why the dialogue around intersectionality is so important.

Though I haven’t been at the University for long I feel that UoB is LGBT friendly but with room for improvement. We are working against ingrained social norms and the University is up against massive challenges regarding the size of the community; embedding that depth of awareness to everyone is going to be an ongoing process. It’s important that we continue to build a dialogue with staff and students to be able to flag issues whenever they arise and have a functioning mechanism to be able to make change.

The first thing I would say to any new students or staff would be ‘Welcome!’ It’s great that you are here! My message would be to explore the support available, do engage with us as we want to hear your input into how we can make things better for you.