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When I made the decision to come out as a lesbian in 1982, I was in the second year of my law degree and the UK was an altogether different country to the one we live in now. In choosing to be open with the world about who you are, you were placing yourself under […]
When I was growing up, I didn’t know a single gay person (no-one was out either at school or at college) and the only famous out gay person I can recall from the time was Julian Clary. He was so different to everything I knew about myself that I couldn’t possibly identify with him. I […]
A deep breath. My pulse quickens. I still vividly recall coming out to my first supervisor as a trainee at my previous firm. Although I was already out to my intake, somehow having the conversation with a senior felt much more difficult, more risky. It’s a conversation which, of course, many LGBTQ+ individuals find themselves […]
Coming out. I think and hope that people who identify as heterosexual are starting to realise that it isn’t a one-time event but something that those who identify as having a different sexuality have to do on a regular basis. It is a decision; a decision you make every time you meet someone for the […]
“Backs against the wall lads”. That was the startling advice given to me on my first work outing as an articled clerk in Liverpool in 1990. The newbies were being taken on a drinking tour of the city, and part of the tour was to a gay bar to – basically – gawp at the […]
“Being open about your sexuality in the workplace will not change how most people react to you,” says Hausfeld partner John McElroy.
Growing up in Ireland in the 80s LGBT+ role models were thin on the ground. I wanted children which felt near impossible with a woman back then. So, I was in denial for years and thanks to my Catholic guilt expected to stay in the closet forever. I wasn’t out at university or professionally until […]
I was in a same-sex relationship before I started my training contract 16 years ago, and I have been completely out for my entire career. On applications, I deliberately included details of my time helping to run the student LGBT society, despite friends’ advice. My thinking was simple: If a firm doesn’t want the real […]
I didn’t realise at the time, but I grew up in a very white and conservative area, quite typical of the South of England, but quite a contrast to my (wonderful but different) one-parent family with my Venezuelan dad and younger brother. That feeling of being an outsider can give you a small insight into […]
I was 14 when I came out. I was, I think, at that point, coming to terms with the possibility that I might be gay and how that might alter (and perhaps diminish) the catalogue of opportunities open to me in future. There was no doubt in my mind that my parents would accept me […]
I grew up heavily closeted in a small, conservative village, and from a young age I assumed that I would grow up, find a husband, and have children. I still have my 13-year-old diary in which I set out my life plan, which involved being married, qualified, and a parent age 27. Even then I […]
As Pride month rolls round once again, I find myself reflecting on progress made in LGBT+ rights over the years: from the Stonewall riots of 1969, to the establishment of UK charity Stonewall in response to the pernicious s.28 in the late 80s, and then to civil partnerships and eventually the enactment in 2013 of […]