There are various awareness days, weeks and months throughout the year, and a question is often asked – is this fair? February was LGBT+ History Month, but is it fair to have a month celebrating LGBT+ history when there is no month dedicated to the history of straight or cisgender people? Rebecca Piggott, diversity and inclusion coordinator at Kier Highways, explores…
“What is fairness? We’ve seen a move from viewing the term fair as a synonym for equal to looking at fairness in terms of equity. This means acknowledging that things which might not seem fair to some (like celebrations of specific groups), are in fact in response to historical inequity or unfairness. Did you know that for over two centuries sexual orientation and gender identity wasn’t included in the census? This means that until the 2021 census results, we had limited data about LGBTQ+ people in the UK*.
Without this crucial data, we didn’t have visibility of an entire section of our population and in a country that prides itself on its diversity, is that fair?
We know it’s important that we understand the size and makeup of our LGBTQ+ community at Kier, so LGBTQ+ people aren’t a hidden population. So, we have made it easy for our people to share their sexual orientation and gender identity with us. This can be changed at any time, as we know that how people identify may change at different stages of their journey.
In a fair world, awareness events like LGBT+ History Month would not exist. This is because a fair society wouldn’t need them, as people wouldn’t be treated differently based on who they are, and no one would feel they have to hide who they are from others.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the world we live in. We can’t change the past, but we can acknowledge and learn from it to make a better present.
Our commitment to Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement (FREDIE) in Kier Highways means we encourage our people to educate themselves on the realities of life for others, share their lived experiences, and engage in celebrations of diversity.
LGBT+ History Month increases the visibility of LGBTQ+ people, their lives, histories, experiences, and contributions. It raises awareness of the challenges the community have faced and overcome, and the barriers they face today, and strives to improve safety and welfare for all LGBTQ+ people. At Kier, many of our Highways employees are members of Kier’s Pride Network, and marched in the London Pride Parade last year, bringing along their partners and children to share the day and allowing us to spread the message of inclusion beyond our business.
A few months later in September 2022, we dedicated a day of our National Inclusion Week content to all things LGBT+. Through film and podcast recommendations, reading suggestions, and education on harmful microaggressions, we reminded everybody to continue their learning (and often more importantly, their unlearning) beyond Pride month.
Positive progress in inclusion or historic changes like additions to the census are born from a refusal to accept what is not fair or to allow groups to go unrepresented and uncelebrated. That refusal is what LGBT+ History Month and all other dates like it are truly about. For fairness to be a reality in our companies, industries, and society, we must identify and disrupt unfairness, even when it’s uncomfortable or difficult.
Everybody can impact real change, and we all have an important role to play in this, every month of the year.”
*Questions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity were added to the 2021 census for both England and Wales, and Scotland. Sexual orientation was added to the 2021 Northern Ireland census, but it did not include a question about gender identity. In each census the questions were optional.
This blog is the first in a series of six Kier Highways blogs that will be published every other month throughout 2023, starting at the end of February. Each blog will focus on an element of the FREDIE model (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement) and they will be published in that order.
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