17 May 2010: International Day against Homophobia – Freedom to be yourself

Freedom is regarded by many people as one of the most highly valued benefits enjoyed by the Western First World.  The freedoms we enjoy have been fought for, and many have died for them, and they are jealously guarded.  We tend to think of Freedom as enabling us not only to aspire, but to strive towards and achieve our aspirations – be they health, wealth or happiness.  Of course, reality is a bit different from that, and we all live within societal constraints of one sort or another.

Some of the constraints we live with we can accept as being just part and parcel of life in a modern society.  But some constraints are to do with the behaviours and values of other people we live among or work with.  What happens when ‘society’, or our neighbours or work colleagues do not value something that is important to us?  What happens if some aspect of our being or personality is regarded as different, and therefore as unwelcome?  Let’s put bullying and harassment brought about by negative reactions to difference to one side for a moment; what happens to people if they simply don’t feel welcome or accepted within a culture because they don’t conform in some way to a group norm?  What price ‘freedom’ then?

Over the last decades, huge strides have been made within our society in recognising the importance of addressing inequalities and the benefits of celebrating diversity.  Great challenges remain though in getting employers and organisations of all sorts to bring about cultural changes that will enable differences to be accepted as normal and enriching of our wider society.

I used to work in a large organisation that, ten years ago, introduced a change in policy so that gay and lesbian people would no longer be discriminated against within the organisation.  This change was brought about by a high-profile legal challenge to the organisation’s employment practices.  Internally this policy change initially felt quite revolutionary, but very quickly it was realised that it was accepted by the vast majority of those within the organisation with very little concern.

What took much longer to realise was that just changing the rules was not enough.  At that stage little had been done to change the culture within the organisation, or to make colleagues who were gay or lesbian but had never been able to have this acknowledged, for fear of losing their jobs, feel welcomed and accepted.  It took some brave souls who were prepared to be open and to challenge the status quo to make the organisation realise the impact this negative culture had on them.

One of Stonewall’s maxims is ‘People perform better when they can be themselves’.  This was what the organisation learned, and it was the driver for bringing about cultural change within the organisation.  Freedom to be ourselves within the culture in which we find ourselves, whether within wider society or at work, enables individuals to feel they ‘belong’, and to give more and achieve their potential.  That freedom is precious indeed, and that is one of the reasons why CMP Resolutions recognises 17 May 2010 as the International Day against Homophobia.