LCP’s Drummond on the power of speaking out

I count myself lucky that despite being an LGBT+ woman, I have personally experienced very little in the way of discrimination.

I’ve been “out” all my working life, and have experienced nothing but support, inclusion and kindness from my colleagues at LCP.

But I know I’m lucky to work for such a great company, and to have gone through life without much in the way of prejudice. Others are not so lucky and face daily abuse, bullying and harassment just by being their authentic selves.

It’s encouraging to see diversity, equity and inclusion getting increasing focus across our industry. And while diversity is starting to improve, the progress is a) too slow and b) needs to extend beyond just gender – to all aspects including intersectionality.

Sharing lived experience

My only real experience of discrimination came in the form of hate mail, which was delivered to my office last year.

Having read the letter, which targeted my sexuality, gender and appearance, I was initially shocked and upset, but this was quickly followed by a resolve to use it as an opportunity to do good.

Sharing lived experiences can really help improve awareness and understanding, increase empathy and compassion, and help allies be more effective. So I shared the hate mail, and my feelings on it, with my colleagues and on LinkedIn.

The response I got was amazing, though nothing less than I would expect from a firm that genuinely cares about its people and about its commitment to DEI. It’s spurred us all on to be even more proactive and vocal allies for minority groups, and has underlined the importance of calling out bad behaviour.

I received hate mail at my office last year. The letter targeted my sexuality, gender and appearance. I was shocked and upset, but resolved to use it as an opportunity to do good. I shared the hate mail, and my feelings on it, with my colleagues and on LinkedIn. The response I got was amazing.

I also reported the letter as a hate crime – not because I expected any action, but because I think it’s important that it feeds into the statistics that record that this is still very much a current problem that many face on a daily basis.

Making a difference

At LCP, we have been working hard over the last few years to support genuine change across our industry.

It must first start at our own door, where we nurture a people-first, diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, supported by our four thriving, people-led networks who work together to lead a wide range of initiatives and events.

We’re proud of the recognition that we have received in this field, but recognise there’s always more to do.

In addition to our work internally, we actively participate in over 20 external groups across the industries we work in, including the Diversity Project, O:Pen, AMP, SEO, the IFoA’s Diversity Action Group, Link and Link’s Senior Advisory Board.

By collaborating with external groups, we can drive change at an industry level, share experiences and best practice, and be a visible force for good in this important area.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, I hope to encourage others to speak out more and share their own experiences of barriers they have faced. This will help us continue to educate and encourage everyone to do more to ensure that DEI becomes a natural part of what we do each day.

We need to measure our progress through better data collection and analysis, to help us improve our understanding of what is working and what isn’t.

We all need to be more vocal, calling out injustices and bias, and evolve our approaches (to everything; from people management to product innovation and everything in between) to ensure everyone can achieve their full potential, and that as an industry, we can fully serve the needs of the diverse communities that make up our population.

Catherine Drummond is a partner at LCP