By Magenta Associates /and LGBT in FM committee
2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Stonewall riots, which saw members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT+) community rebel against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, in New York, in the early hours of 28th June 1969. This year has seen a considerable focus on that pivotal moment, specifically within Pride season (which spans the summer globally).
While there is a lot to celebrate and be proud of within the LGBT+ community’s accomplishments to this point, it is important to remember how far the movement still needs to go to achieve true equality. Pride can be a complex time of year for members of the community. Some have a fantastic relationship with their personal sexual orientation or gender identity and their position in the world. Unfortunately, for many others, it is less a celebratory period and more of an obligatory pressure they cannot escape. Thankfully, however, specifically for those working within the facilities management sector, there is now a dedicated group of individuals collectively focused on supporting and amplifying the voices of the community within the industry – the LGBT+ in FM committee.
When LGBT+ in FM was founded in 2016 there were only three large FM contracting organisations who had internal networks established. They were starting on the journey to ensure that all their LGBT+ staff were supported in the workplace by working against discrimination. It was an excellent first step that made a real impact.
Internal networks are always looking for ways to make a bigger impact. How can they support more people? How can they make our industry the most inclusive? With the IWFM estimating that 10% of the UK workforce is made up of the FM sector, there are now likely to be over 200,000 LGBT+ colleagues working in offices, hospitals, schools, trains, sports stadiums and so on, in often very isolated environments. How can employers and the LGBT+ in FM network effectively support the whole community? It starts with these points:
The network aims to:
- Amplify the voice of the LGBT+ community
- Share best practice
- Provide advice and support to one another and to non-members who seek it
- Create opportunities for our employees to network, listen to inspirational guest speakers and attend Pride parades together
- Why the network is in place:
- To achieve things as a collaborative group that wouldn’t be possible for individual organisations e.g., Pride in London and larger networking events
- To drive change within organisations through creating industry norms e.g., having active networks, being visible in support for LGBT+ employees
- To use best practice and the learnings of other organisations
- To strive for equality, diversity and support of its peers
The main purpose of the network is to create and support a culture within the FM industry that makes it the most inclusive environment possible, as well as an attractive career path for LGBT+ people. Pre-committee stage, some of the larger organisations had well established and supported internal networks – but unfortunately, many others were falling far behind. This was especially notable for smaller companies where the size did not necessarily warrant a full network.
The idea behind the network was to pool expertise and resources to create a support network for all LGBT+ people and allies within the industry as a whole. This would create a sense of community and support, as well as provide guidance to companies just starting their journey, or without large infrastructures.
To date, the committee has run regular networking events for visibility and growing the membership. This includes a mix of speaker events and less formal events, maintaining a regular press presence, speaking at industry events, building relationships with other LGBT+ Networks, developing guidance documents and – most recently – taking part in London’s Jubilee Pride in July 2019. This was a fantastic milestone for the group, with over 140 individuals from the LGBT+ community taking part.
What is most exciting about this network is the sheer scope of the reach of the organisation. Wherever there is a workspace, there is facilities management. It has the potential to keep the conversation going across all industries it touches, potentially building an even greater network of LGBT+ people throughout the working world.
There is a shocking amount of people that have not ‘come out’ in the workplace out of fear of being treated differently. Individuals can go to college or university where openly identifying as LGBT+ is often more than warmly accepted. But when stepping into the working environment, people can fear being discriminated against, which obviously discourages people for sharing their true identities. The LGBT+ in FM group gives people the courage to be themselves and have a network of people that have gone through it all before and can share experiences and how to overcome issues.
On top of the above, the committee is a fantastic opportunity to make friends within the group who can all act as a sounding board, not just LGBT+ related and sometimes nothing to do with work at all, which can be a great release for members. Working in the diversity and inclusion space; having to stress the business case and persuade people that X or Y is worthwhile, can sometimes be frustrating. Therefore, many use the committee as a welcome break from the restrictions of daily life in their jobs and see it as a release with like-minded people.
It’s no secret to people that the FM sector has not always been the most diverse scene to work in. However, this is starting to change rapidly. Through the committee’s work, societal change and greater efforts from employees to support differing communities, the workplace of today is thankfully shifting to a more inclusive, dynamic and varied space – which loudly and proudly sings about its differences.
For more information or press enquiries, please contact Ollie Tunmore on [email protected] and keep up with the committee on Twitter at @LGBTinFM.
Current committee members include:
Sodexo / ISS / Vinci Facilities / Constructing Rainbows / Pareto FM / Boden Group / The BSA / CBRE / EMCOR UK / Magenta Associates
