The PinkNews Trans+ Summit took place last Thursday for trans rights advocates, professionals and business leaders. This was a digital event that hosted panels of expert speakers from across the business, inclusion and not-for-profit sectors. The aim was to provide education and guidance for how to support trans and non binary people in the workplace. From the fundamentals to allyship for managers, to transition and support services, the panels provided vital information for business leaders today.
With 1 in 4 LGBTQIA+ Gen Z identifying outside the gender binary, it's more important than ever for leaders to be informed and supportive.
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This event is the first of its kind in the UK and marks a really encouraging step forward for trans inclusion in the workplace. The allyship of managers is so important in achieving this, and PinkNews are inspiring them to rise to the opportunity.
In one panel discussion, Emma Cusdin from Global Butterflies urged people to "cast that positive leadership shadow to build that psychological safety." Cusdin encouraged managers to be that "force for allyship", and key to that is being noisy! This way, you can make a huge difference to whether someone feels comfortable being themselves at work, or not.
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"When you hear someone else's story you stand in their shoes".
In her acceptance speech for her BAFTA lifetime achievement award, Wolverhampton born actor Meera Syal spoke of the need for diversity in the television industry.
Syal said that while her award represented change, there was still much work to be done and dedicated her award to those who had been made to feel like their stories didn’t matter, due to their race, gender or class. She also thanked casting directors who put her forward for roles “especially when it didn't say Asian in the breakdown.”
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An annual 'Rainbow Europe' index has been published which ranks European countries on how safe they are for LGBTQIA+ communities. Each country is scored between 0-100% and assessed on progress made in the last 12 months. Malta topped the charts once again with a score of 89%, Belgium second with 76%, followed by Denmark at 76% also. Meanwhile, the UK continuous to drop down the list, this year ranking at 17th.
It was just eight years ago that we occupied the top slot. Since last year, we've fallen another three places. "Our European neighbours continue to surge ahead while the UK stagnates," say Stonewall.
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The National Conservatism Conference took place in London this week where Suella Braverman delivered the key-note. The Home Secretary cautioned against 'multiculturalism' as a 'recipe for disaster', an idea quite at odds with our diverse society. Instead she spoke fervently to a 'Britishness' which should be "cherished" - a Britishness that apparently her parents embraced when arriving in the UK, but migrants today do not. To top these comments off, she also made a transphobic jibe towards Keir Starmer that "given his definition of a woman, we can't rule him out from running to be Labour's first female prime minister." Braverman received enthusiastic applause.
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Alpine Skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, has had an unparalleled season. She won 14 World Cup races and achieved her 88th victory - the most won by any skier in history. In the midst of this, Shiffrin spoke openly about being on her period during competitions. In interviews, she confided that she had felt exhausted, wasn't sleeping well and generally felt out of sorts due to her period. Shame around menstruation is still strong within sports and sometimes still viewed as a sign of weakness. We applaud Shiffrin for openly talking about the reality for 50% of the population, and many top athletes.
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The inaugural Board Awards was a success! A new awards ceremony from Diversifying Group like no other. A not-for-profit venture, The Board Awards hinges on transparency, integrity, and celebrating real, tangible progress for Diversity and Inclusion. We're focusing on the change happening at the very top level of decision-makers, the company Boards. As Cynthia, CEO of Diversifying Group, says "unless leaders are really driving and demonstrating change, it’s hard for the rest of the workforce to really believe and buy into it.”
And we've celebrated some brilliant leaders, and inspire further change. Get a peak into the celebrations by following along on our Instagram stories.
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The Labour deputy party leader, Angela Rayner, is spearheading a policy that would mean the ability for managers to contact staff outside of business hours would be restricted, similar to a policy introduced in France in 2017. The aim of this policy is to improve work-life balance by allowing people to fully switch off from work. Rayner has said Labour will “look at how to implement this in practice, learning from countries where it has been introduced successfully.”
Other policies they would like to introduce include the banning of zero hours contracts and putting an end to the practice of “firing and rehiring”, which means people are rehired on worse wages and employment terms.
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