The importance of LGBTQ+ & Allies networks

Each year, #PrideMonth is an opportunity for businesses and organisations to not only roll out the rainbow colours loudly and proudly, but to also take a step back and consider: “are we doing enough for our LGBTQ+ colleagues and wider community all year round?”

As this #PrideMonth2023 draws to a close, two members of Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies Network, Liam Hurren (He/Him) and Melanie Hart (She/Her) reflect in this blog on what we have achieved in the last 12 months and on the continuing support and assistance that our Network can provide to our colleagues, and the wider LGBTQ+ community, in the weeks, months and years ahead – because #PrideNeverStops.

Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies network was established in 2015, and we are a large, loud and proud group which is constantly evolving!

Left to Right: Emily Elliott (She/her), Co-Chair LGBTQ+ & Allies Network; Melanie Hart (She/her) Network Member; Liam Hurren (He/him) Network Member

The aims of our Network are to:

• Provide peer-to-peer support and a safe space – research shows that LGBTQ+ people who feel able to bring their whole selves to work have better performance and build stronger relationships with their peers. Simply put, when you are not forced to hide who you are or who you love, or to pretend to be a different person entirely, your focus and energy can instead be on your work and building your career. However, even in the most open and welcoming workplaces, members of the LGBTQ+ community can still experience difficulties; whether that be issues in their personal life, internal struggles or other factors. One of the main functions of our Network is to provide peer-to-peer support. It is fundamentally important for queer staff to have a safe space within which to spend time and share thoughts confidentially with people who truly understand their experiences.

• Provide visible support and advocacy – many of our LGBTQ+ Network members are very visible figures with the courage to be honest with everyone about who they are and what matters to them. We are equally blessed to have very visible Allies in the Network whose support is a central part of our Network’s aims. Having people who are willing to be so unequivocally and outwardly supportive of LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion is invaluable in a workplace. This visibility, alongside the work of the Network as a whole, reaches beyond just staff, to clients, contacts, suppliers and the wider legal profession and local community.

• Being advocates for challenge and change - the role of any LGBTQ+ & Allies Network is also to scrutinise an organisation’s policies and processes, to speak up about any issues or concerns, and of course to help the organisation to make improvements. LGBTQ+ networks should always act as a ‘critical friend’ in driving forward change and ensuring that a culture of inclusion is embedded.

• Awareness raising - this is key to promoting a better understanding of LGBTQ+ inclusion and making LGBTQ+ experiences more visible in the wider organisation. Networks can shine a light on issues which are affecting the queer community, and this helps to create an environment in which staff want to learn how their LGBTQ+ colleagues have been or are being impacted. One of the most important elements we hope to focus on more at Kingsley Napley going forward is intersectionality and how we can work more closely with our other DEI networks to achieve and promote all our objectives.

As we come to the end of this #PrideMonth and reflect on the work we need to do going forwards, we also wanted to use this blog to highlight some of the brilliant work members of our LGBTQ+ & Allies Network have been doing over the last 12 months:

• For International Non-Binary People’s Day on 14 July, we invited Oscar Davies (They/Them), the first out non-binary barrister, to join us for breakfast to discuss identifying as non-binary; the recent changes in the law; and the continuing challenges experienced by non-binary people.

• Our LGBTQ+ & Allies and KN Families network groups held a joint event in September: Routes to parenthood: An evening exploring the options available to LGBTQ+ and modern families. Our speakers included Samantha Little (She/Her), Partner and Head of the Children Law Team at Russell-Cooke Solicitors; and Dr Vasanti Jadva (She/Her), Lecturer in Reproductive Science and Women's Health, University College London, and members of our firm, Connie, Atkinson (She/Her), Katie Newbury (She/Her) and Moira Campbell (She/Her). The topics discussed included the impact of new family forms on parenting and child development, and the challenges for same-sex couples accessing IVF.

• All of our staff were provided with the opportunity to wear rainbow lanyards, plus rainbow laces for our sports teams, all year round to show allyship and support for our LGBTQ+ colleagues.  This proved so popular that we have run out of lanyards twice and more are on order!

• We continued to support Switchboard, an LGBT+ helpline offering a safe space for callers to discuss sexuality, gender identity, sexual health and emotional well-being. Switchboard held their board meeting at our offices in January, and we were fortunate in being able to interview Stephanie Fuller (She/Her), Switchboard’s General Manager, for National Coming Out Day on 11 October.

• We attended the LSE-Featherstone Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Moot competition in February, where we helped judge the debates. The competition is dedicated to the consideration of areas of sexual orientation and gender identity law. Alongside the associated networking event, it brings bring together LGBT and ally students, campaigners, practitioners, and members of the judiciary.

• All of our staff were invited to add their pronouns to their website profiles.

• We continued to offer pro bono support and donations to The Outside Project, an LGBTIQ+ Community Shelter, Centre and Domestic Abuse Refuge established in 2017 in response to those within the LGBTIQ+ community who feel endangered, who are homeless, ‘hidden’ homeless and feel that they are on the outside of services due to historical and present prejudice in society and in their homes.

• For LGBT+ History Month in February, in reference to the theme of “Through the Lens”, we held a film screening at our offices in which we showed Joe Lycett’s comedy special, “More, More, More: How do you Lycett, How do you Lycett”. All of our staff were invited to an evening of laughs and popcorn.

• We continued to highlight some of the legal changes and challenges which impact the LGBTQ+ community through our various blogs, including no-fault divorce, gender recognition reform, and the new standard of proof in asylum claims. We also marked various key dates with pieces written for Transgender Day of Visibility on 31 March and International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on 17 May.

• In May, during Mental Health Awareness Week, we took advantage of Kingsley Napley’s partnership with Self Space to organise a workshop on overcoming anxiety, providing an opportunity for our staff to focus on their mental and emotional wellbeing, and to engage with creative activities to alleviate stress and connect to a sense of tenderness around something that often feels hard and difficult.

• Our incredible co-chair, Emily Elliot (She/Her) spoke at the University of Oxford’s LGBTQ+ Society event, LGBTQ+ Women in Law. The talk was open to women and gender minorities, and it included a Q&A where Emily spoke about her experiences, career and leading Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies Network.

We are very proud of our Network’s work.  As with all businesses and organisations, there is still more we can be doing to ensure our workplace is a safe, diverse, and inclusive one for every single individual. We look forward to the year ahead and the continued efforts we will be making towards DEI at Kingsley Napley and the wider community.

In a final message to close out this blog, we want to give a special acknowledgement to Stephen Parkinson (He/Him), who recently retired from his role as Senior Partner at Kingsley Napley. Stephen talked openly about his journey to becoming a diversity champion and ally, and our DEI groups have benefited immeasurably over the last few years from Stephen’s advocacy, support, encouragement and leadership. Thank you Stephen, from all of us.

On behalf of Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies Network, we wish you all a very happy and safe Pride, wherever you are and however you choose to celebrate, in June and beyond.