Laura shares her experience of coming out as transgender at Jacobs

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A welcoming safe space for all employees

Laura Schofield shares her experience of coming out as transgender at Jacobs.

 

 

I joined one of Jacobs’ legacy companies straight out of university about 20 years ago, starting in the water sector working on drainage design. I particularly enjoyed the coordination and management aspects of the job, so I eventually focused on pursuing a career in project management.

For 10 years, I worked on the Thames Tideway Tunnel programme, which was a great experience, and I then spent four years working with the Environment Agency on the asset management of tidal flood defences for the Thames Estuary. Just nine months ago, I pursued an agile career move within Jacobs and now I am a Project Manager and Deputy Programme Manager, working with Morrison Energy Services to upgrade National Grid substations. As we move towards more renewable energy, this is a very exciting time to work in this part of the business.

It was only when I was in my thirties that I came out as transgender to myself and to people close to me. It was something that was always in the background for me, but I think I put my true gender identity into the ‘too-difficult’ bucket for a long time. It was something I had to grapple with and get my head around gradually in my personal life as well as in my working life.

In terms of transitioning in the workplace, I initially had conversations with HR and my line manager and they were all very supportive. I was also put in touch with someone who had been through a similar experience to mine – that was really, really helpful.

I had a plan for coming out at work by telling different people and groups in different ways. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to doing this and it takes a lot of energy, especially emotional energy, to go through this process, but the support of management and colleagues made it as painless as possible. So many colleagues were absolutely lovely and have been good friends throughout my experience of coming out.

 

 

I changed my name at work, on my email address and on the systems, as well as outside of work on things such as my driving licence and passport, which was quite a big undertaking. I also changed my appearance gradually, along with wearing more feminine clothes. But the great thing is that none of this changes my ability to do my job – managing engineering projects is the same, regardless of our personal identity. Colleagues don’t treat me differently from the way I was treated before I transitioned, which is what you want in a professional setting.

Through this process, I’ve become more comfortable and confident in my identity and I am so much happier. In my work life, I am able to be authentic in how I relate to everybody and to bring my real self to work. I helped to produce a UK Trans Inclusion and Transitioning at Work Policy as well as a global guidance document for transgender employees and their managers.

Sometimes, you have to explain what it really means to be trans, but Jacobs has been really helpful in this regard too. With the HR department, we arranged a session at the time of my transition for someone to talk to interested colleagues about being transgender and provide some guidance. It was a good educational session and has been followed with other trans awareness events. I also helped to produce a guidance document for transgender employees and their managers. 

The Prism network for LGBTQIA+ employees at Jacobs has been fantastic. Within the network, I am a champion for trans and non-binary inclusion. It provides such a supportive environment, a safe space, and it brings a lot of joy. The network helps people to be comfortable with their queer and trans identities and supports many people to be great allies as well. 

Prism hosts different events, including events where we collaborate with other networks because there is crossover and intersectionality across different groups for so many people. As well as participating in Prism events, I have worked with other organisations including some of our partners and clients; I’m passionate about raising awareness of trans and non-binary issues and creating safe spaces for people to come together, share and find a community.

At work, I would love to continue working in project management in the energy transition space because I consider it to be a really important area. In addition, I just want to continue to help make Jacobs a place where everyone feels welcome and included.

 

Watch Laura’s video from 2019 below:

 

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