On track for equality and inclusivity at HS2

Juliette Dowling and Lisa Gronberg co-chair HS2’s LGBTQ+ network, which is making a difference in the rail and construction sectors.

 

                                     Lisa Gronberg                                                                              Juliette Dowling

 

Tell us about your jobs with the HS2 rail project.

Juliette: I’m the Senior Data Analyst within the Safety & Assurance performance team, so I deal mainly with health and safety data analysis and reporting for phases one and two of the HS2 project. It involves a lot of graphs!

Lisa: I am the Zoned Schemes lead but currently acting head of discretionary schemes. I look after the team that deals with applications for all of our discretionary schemes which includes acquiring properties and making payments.

 

You are co-chairs of the LGBTQ+ Network. How does that work?

Lisa: Our roles are largely the same and we both have areas of specialism and we work closely together on all aspects of the network.  We have both been involved with the network since it started in early 2017 as part of the steering group. There have been a few different co-chairs in that time and I took up my role recently, when one of these positions became vacant. We are trying to make everyone in the LGBTQ+ acronym visible and create a wider knowledge base, especially when it comes to the minority groups within the community so we are looking beyond the L and the G and for this year have a particular focus on bi and trans issues, which a lot of people can still find challenging. We spend a lot of time working through important dates in the calendars and setting up learning events for the organisation and we are currently building a library of resources for colleagues to use.

 

So, the network is for allies as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community?

Lisa: Yes, people might tell us they don't know how to be a good ally or that they are uncomfortable talking about these issues. We're trying to make these conversations more comfortable, so everyone can come to work and be their full, authentic selves. On the Stonewall Work Equality Index, we scored quite well this year, climbing up over 100 places from last year, and we want to keep improving. Stonewall has also given us a gold award for our bi- and trans-inclusion work.

Juliette: We run quarterly sessions on how to be a good ally and the work we do. The sessions only run for about an hour, so it’s a zoom through LGBTQ+ allyship, and they’re really effective. 

 

How important is policy work for the network?

Juliette: We've worked on policies that aren't necessarily the things that people talk or think about, but they are important. All HS2’s policies are now gender neutral, which is great news. A fully gender-neutral menopause policy has been launched and it’s excellent. HS2 Employee Relations worked with us, as well as the Gender Balance Network to create a policy which is as inclusive as it could possibly be, and I’m proud of the way that we all worked together to create something so valuable.  

 

Are the little changes as important as big policy initiatives?

Juliette: Yes, big initiatives, such as gender-neutral toilets, are important, but there is more to it than that. We are currently working to ensure people have better options when it comes to their identity, so people don’t have to hide their sexuality or gender identity. Those of us working on these improvements have the physical and emotional capacity to fight for these things, so that when, for example, an out trans person joins HS2, they don’t have to take up that fight because it has already been won.

Lisa: We encourage people to include their pronouns in their signatures, if they wish. What we're doing is creating an atmosphere of inclusion. It can be very easy to forget about LGBTQ+ people, especially as things such as gender identity and sexuality aren’t always obvious.

 

Tell us about how opening up conversations is crucial for the network.

Lisa: It can be harder when it comes to subjects like sexuality because some people aren’t keen to talk about what they see as private things. And people can be scared of misgendering someone or referring to them with the wrong pronoun, because these issues are being talked about more now. But what we’re trying to get through to people is that it’s OK to make mistakes if you learn from them. Mistakes are to be expected, we all make mistakes and there is still so much to learn, even for people within the community. 

Juliette: Language has been changing so quickly, so people will ask questions, such as how to address a family member who has transitioned, how to address a non-binary person or how to talk about this to children. We’ve had some amazing external speakers talk at network events, including two people who are non-binary. For some people at the event, it was the first time they met someone who was openly non-binary, which has been a huge thing. There can be such a toxic discourse, especially around trans issues, and people can get really confused, so we want to help navigate these choppy waters for our colleagues. But people have become more aware, which is great.

Lisa: Trans people have always been there, but they were in the shadows for a long time. That was the same for gay people in years gone by, but now there is more awareness, and it is easier to be openly gay, and it should be the same for trans people. It feels like there is a real attempt by some to drive things underground again, which reminds me of some of the effects of Section 28 on the community, so we have to find ways to have constructive conversations without being hostile.

 

How easy is it to promote LGBTQ+ awareness within the rail and construction sectors?

Juliette: These sectors have a reputation for being unwelcoming to anyone who isn’t a cisgender, heterosexual white male, but we are challenging the idea of who should be working in this environment. So, we are normalising LGBTQ+ people in the workplace by being visible (especially important for me as a bi human). This makes people better human beings in and out of work, because they can take the things that they have learnt in the workplace to their everyday lives. Weirdly, the pandemic helped us build the network because more people could access our virtual events, rather than having to travel.   

 

What events are coming up?

Juliette: September 23 is Bi Visibility Day, so we will be hearing from the amazing Jen Yockney, who was awarded an MBE for her services to bisexual community. She is going to be talking about allyship. And we’ll be taking part in a walking group at Birmingham Pride, also in September. It could well be our largest walking group yet. Our head office is in Birmingham, so it makes sense to be part of Birmingham Pride. It’s a huge thing for people to see us at Birmingham Pride – we are proud to work for HS2 and proud to be who we are. We walk through the centre of Birmingham for about two hours and everybody cheers. It’s glorious.  

Lisa: The Pride march is a really positive thing, not just for the network, but for everyone who takes part. We’ve also got Trans Awareness Week coming up in November. And we get involved in joint events with other networks, because there is plenty of intersectionality – somebody who is LGBTQ+ might also be from an ethnic minority or disabled or all three, and we want to celebrate all of that. It’s about visibility for everyone. 

 

For more information on equity, diversity and inclusion programmes and initiatives at HS2 please click here.