Date Added: 03.06.20

The prospect of looking for a new job is daunting enough but combined with the attributes of having a protected characteristic it can be even harder. Protected characteristic is the preferred term to describe someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, female, a person of colour, disabled and many other groups.

In a recent LGBT+ survey, 80% of respondents aged 16 to 64 had been in employment at some point in the 12 months. Trans people were less likely to have had a paid job in the 12 months preceding the survey  while 65% of trans women and 57% of trans men had one.

And it doesn’t stop there: only 1.7% of the energy and water industry is made up by people from a BAME background while recent data revealed that disabled people were over a third less likely to be employed than non-disabled people. In fact, the employment rate for disabled people aged 16 to 64 years was 53.2% in 2019, compared with 81.8% for non-disabled people.

So, we can see that as a society we have a lot of work to do when it comes to making the workforce diverse and inclusive. We all know how it feels to look for work and how nerve-wracking it can be – imagine if the usual pre-interview nerves weren’t all you had to think about.

Jitters before an interview are pretty common, “Will they like me?“, “Is my outfit okay?“, “Did I research enough?”

But how many of you will think; “I wonder what their discrimination policies are?“, “Can they tell I’m trans?”, “Do I look too butch or flamboyant?“. Speaking from experience, you begin to question if you should just be yourself or who you think they want you to be, and if things don’t come to fruition you start to self-doubt.

Don’t just take my word for it: When I was researching for this article, I spoke to a fellow transwoman who shared her experience of looking for work with me. She expressed how even before people see her they form an opinion: “I am unemployed and struggle to get work, prior to transitioning this was never an issue. I have tested this by applying to 30+ jobs and announcing I am trans, to which I received no interest. I did the same again but withheld the fact I am trans and suddenly I got interviews.”

Her story reminded me of the prejudices I myself have faced. As a proud gay Indian man who was feminine, I was constantly told to “tone it down” , “gosh that shirt is loud” or “man up for your interview”. I could go on but we would both be here all day!

When I transitioned to feel more at ease in my body as a transgender woman, I was faced with even more discrimination and insensitivity. After finding my courage to leave the climate that was dangerous to my mental health and wellbeing, I felt liberated. Though this freedom was short-lived as I then had to navigate the waters of recruitment as a transwoman of colour.

After countless interviews, rescinded contracts of employment and “we don’t think you’d be a good cultural fit”, I started to give up. What always stuck out to me was the readiness of interviewers to ask extremely personal questions about my gender or sexuality during this process and the general lack of compassion. Both something Lily Moore, Senior Consultant at Consult Energy, had in buckets when she called me on one fateful August afternoon to attend an interview, and the rest was history!

Thankfully, times are changing. When I was interviewed for my role at Consult Energy, I was seen by the two directors of the business who only saw an individual with experience to help and grow the organisation. At no point did I feel like a box-ticking exercise or have intrusive personal questions thrown at me.

As we move away from archaic norms in a society, people have more freedom to express themselves but furthermore, businesses are seeing the value that protected characteristic individuals bring to the table; resilience, passion, drive, compassion and kindness to name but a few.

But still, while my experience with Consult was a breath of fresh air, not everyone has it so easy. Humans are flawed beings: we judge, we have misconceptions and stereotypes about people with protected characteristics. Though these personal views or opinions should not come into play during the recruitment process, unfortunately, a lot of the time they do.

In recent years as we more towards a more progressive and diverse workforce, the phrase “unconscious bias” gets thrown around. What does it mean? Simply put: you form an opinion based on someone you’ve met or from interaction over the phone or from their CV. You naturally will think more highly of someone who relates more to your beliefs, your thoughts and norms even if they might not be 100% the best choice for the role.

Unconscious bias is something that most people have, and to prevent it we need to make a point of addressing it. The one thing we have in our control is how we conduct ourselves and treat one another, so being as prepared as possible to deal with anything that may come up in an interview or recruitment process is one thing, but it starts with having the right attitude and leaving your bias at the door for everyone involved.

At Consult, we’re working on some guidance that we’re very excited to share with you. The aim is to help during the recruitment process for anyone with protected characteristics and how to make your organisation more inclusive for all, keep your eyes peeled for posts and webinars coming up this Pride Month.

And finally, as a proud to be a bisexual, transgender woman of colour in recruitment I wanted to let all of Consult’s readers know that my door is always open to anyone who needs help with CV’s, interview prep, or advice on making their organisation more inclusive.

*All statistics were provided by gov.uk and The Office for National Statistics UK