Out in the workplace

摘要

Across all sectors, a Stonewall and YouGov report found more than a third (35%) of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) staff have hidden or disguised that they are LGBTQ+ at work because they worry they will be discriminated against. For graduates entering engineering, fear of risking their professional standing or facing prejudice in the workplace means it is not unusual for people previously open about their sexuality to go "back into the closet" once they enter the world of work. Richard Totty is a senior design engineer at Bachy Soletanche. As a university student he says "I was in an LGBTQ+ society", and felt safe to be out. But on joining the industry "I very much kept my private life to myself -which was easier said than done, because I was sharing a flat with a work colleague".