The journey of leaders within the LGBTQIA+ community
LGBTQIA+ leadership is often overlooked and so too is leadership development training programmes. LGBTQIA+ leadership development programmes are able to inspire LGBTQIA+ talent, help tackle the challenges individuals face throughout their leadership journeys, and support them in driving positive change.
I have been involved in leading research with three LGBTQIA+ leadership development programmes. This work has included designing creative art-based workshops aimed at supporting attendees and advancing LGBTQIA+ leadership research. My research is community based and focuses on active participation.
Workshop 1: Rainbow Tree of Working Life encourages participants to draw their working and leadership experiences as trees. Attendees discuss their trees in pairs to explore new connections and meanings. The trees are then assembled in a forest display, offering a collective overview of experience and followed by a group discussion.
Workshop 2: Narrative Writing builds upon the Rainbow Tree of Working Life activity, this workshop focuses on writing a short memoir that highlights the significance of a specific event or period in the participants working lives.
I am pleased to share contributions from attendees who have generously supported this display. I invite you to read their stories and reflect on the values, qualities, and perspectives that LGBTQIA+ leaders bring to leadership. You may also wish to join in with the activities yourself. In displaying this research, I hope to inspire LGBTIQA+ leaders, engage allies, and secure future funding for LGBTQIA+ leadership development programmes.
Dr Alex Baird
Alex.baird@beds.ac.uk
University of Bedfordshire
This display is part of Being Human Festival events, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 6 - 15 November 2025. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org
LGBTQIA + community leader extract 1
A Meaningful Conversation
I have worked for my current employer for over eight years, and for the past four years I have held a role focused on EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion). Being involved in EDI initiatives has allowed me to demonstrate my value within the organisation. I often feel the need to validate my worth. However, my activism has empowered me (Scheadler et al., 2023) and I have seen some positive changes as a result. It can be easy to overlook the impact of my contributions, especially when I reflect on the frustrations and challenges that accompany this work. I have been exposed to deeply hurtful comments as an ‘out’ LGBTQ+ employee, leading allyship training, and organising LGBTQIA+ events. I have felt disappointed when initiatives and reports fail to capture the complexity of issues. I have felt used and sidelined after being asked to provide data and share my experiences only to see no subsequent action taken (Guyan, 2025). I have thought about discontinuing my EDI work, but I have decided against it. Here’s why.
It is crucial for us to discuss EDI in the workplace – specifically, the decisions being made and the actions or the lack thereof being taken. This situation has negatively affected me and my relationship with the organisation. I need to prioritise my well-being before I can continue supporting others. My feelings haven’t faded; in fact, building on the previous four years, they have intensified over the last few months. There are issues to do with how organisations respond to the politics of diversity, that, I believe, have created divisions among us (Ganz, 2024).
Writing this feels therapeutic for me; it allows me to organise my thoughts and work towards a desired outcome. How can I maintain my boundaries? How can I take care of myself while doing this work? I want to give an advance warning to those who may become involved in EDI work after me and remind everyone of the true challenges we face. I don't intend for this to come across as a rant; instead, I find myself in the unusual position of asking for help from senior leaders, allies - you the reader. Do people recognize the reality of the journey for institutions aiming to enhance EDI, and the energy required from those leading this work (Washington, 2024)? Do people understand the personal cost involved in leading this work (Johnston & Yarrow, 2024)? Who will protect me from what lies ahead (Stravrou, 2025)? In the meantime, I have been assigned the task of addressing homophobia and transphobia within the institution. I’m trying to heal, yet I am still being hurt (Hemphill, 2025).
My writing is rooted in a single lived experience. I have many questions and acknowledge I don’t have all the answers. My goal is to challenge individualistic notions of leadership and the burdens they create. I want to emphasise the importance of humility, which involves asking questions and listening actively. This is an invitation to engage – a call to find solutions together. Although I recognise that my words may be misinterpreted, and while it’s unsurprising that I am wary of continuing my EDI work, I remain hopeful. I continue to show up and have the courage to persevere. The backlash against progressive ideas does not surprise me, but I must stress that urgent action is needed now more than ever.
Despite the challenging experiences I’ve have faced in my EDI role, I try to view them as evidence of my strength and resilience. Although I remain acutely aware of my lack of safety and how easily human rights can be taken away, this awareness often leaves me feeling scared. These feelings persist even after I finish work for the day; I find myself inundated by press coverage regarding LGBTQ+ book bans, restrictions on adult gender affirming care, a trans woman working in a lingerie department, and gene tests, among the many other reports. Media and politics are shaping public attitudes toward trans people (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2025; Trans Rights and Wellbeing in Europe and Central Asia, 2025; IPSOS, 2025). Why should the burden of pushing back again minoritization be the sole responsibility of the minoritized?
One of the most challenging aspects of my EDI role has been addressing the impact of the persistent disinformation and false narratives surrounding trans lives on my own. Are people entitled to express beliefs that are not neutral but actively oppose the existence of trans individuals, deny their legal and health rights, reject their dignity, and exclude them from social participation (Lockwood, 2025)? While I encourage ongoing consultation with trans individuals, I urge you to reconsider how this consultation is approached. Should my role primarily involve educating, advocating, defending, begging or should my efforts shift to taking concrete actions to address inequalities?
Senior EDI meetings are not isolated events; they occur within a broader context of systemic issues that affect our workplace and society. I encounter defensiveness, apathy, resistance, and hostility.
Sometimes, I feel judged more harshly and experience greater pressure to demonstrate my competence than straight white male colleagues (Puwar, 2014). I find myself questioning senior leaders and the dominance of oligarchic rule. Is there a true balance of power? Is my voice valued equally? Am I genuinely being heard? Am I involved in the decision-making process or is this just a facade of consultation? To reflect on the discussions from these meetings, I often listen to recordings, considering who my allies are and whether I could have advocated more strongly.
In my EDI role, I have learned and grown significantly. I have come to recognise the vulnerabilities that accompany this position. I understand the importance of staying calm, maintaining clarity, taking time to rest, and acknowledging small wins. I carefully consider my options regarding when and how to communicate effectively. Furthermore, I have benefitted from reaching out to allies, mentors, and senior leaders for support.
Rather than stop, I have requested a meeting with senior leaders at my institution - precisely so I can raise these issues. Trust has been broken, and I would like to think we can rebuild it. We must agree on our goals and clarify whether EDI work is just a performative exercise or if we're ready to challenge existing structures and practices. Let's consider the resources we have, establish our priorities, and determine how we can create meaningful change. I understand the challenges facing our sector, and it is crucial that our conversation is sincere. We should not abandon our goals but rather reimagine our approach to attaining them.
I need to keep fighting – yes, I protest – because I must take action! I cannot stop; my existence, my safety, and the well-being of me and my community depend on this work. It might be tempting to think that I need to become tougher to protect myself, but that is the last thing I want. I do not want to work in an environment where aggressive behaviours are normalised and create fear. Instead, I need to be strategic and stay one step ahead. My anxiety is not a weakness; it shows that I care deeply about this work and want to make improvements. We need to have a meaningful conversation …
Anon
References
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2025) An interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court Ruling. Available at https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/interim-update-practical-implications-uk-supreme-court-judgment [Accessed 13 May 2025].
Ganz, M. (2024) People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Guyan, K. (2025) Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classification and the Dangers of Inclusion. London: Bloomsbury.
Hemphill, P. (2025) What it takes to heal: How transforming ourselves can change the world. New York: Penguin Random House.
IPSOS (2025) LGBT+ Pride Report: A 26-Country IPSOS Global Advisor Survey. Available at https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2025-06/ipsos-pride-report-2025. [Accessed 30 July 2025].
Johnston, K. & Yarrow, E. (2024) Active representation and identity taxation: unintended outcome of representative labour? Public Management Review, 26(4), 970-987.
Lockwood, J. (2025) When Belief Crosses the Line: Kathleen Stock, Grainger V, and the Legal Limits of Exclusion. Available at https://substack.com/inbox/post/170171688 [Accessed 13 August 2025].
Puwar, N. (2004) Space Invaders: Race, Gender and Bodies Out of Place. Oxford: Berg.
Scheadler, T. R., Haus, K. R., Mobley, T. A., & Mark, K. P. (2023) LGBTQ+ Grassroots Activism: An Opportunity for Resilience. Journal of Homosexuality, 70(9), 1675-1700.
Stravrou, A. (2025) Trans women to be banned from single-sex spaces under new equalities watchdog guidance. Available at Trans women to be banned from single-sex spaces under new equalities watchdog guidance | The Independent [Accessed 14 August 2025].
Trans rights and wellbeing in Europe and Central Asia (2025) Trans Rights Index & Map. Available at https://tgeu.org/trans-rights-index-map-2025/ [Accessed 15 May 2025].
Washington, E. F. (2022) The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
LGBTQIA + community leader extract 2
For me, leadership means showing up with integrity and compassion, and recognising that inclusive spaces don’t build themselves; they are shaped through deliberate, sustained action. At the University of Oxford, I hold a leadership role as Operations Manager in one of its largest departments. For me, leadership is about creating space for others to thrive, challenging systems that exclude, and showing up with courage and conviction.
When I first arrived in Oxford in 2016, I didn’t have a degree or an impressive CV. I left school after my GCSEs and had little professional experience. I joined the University through a temporary staffing service, and after a couple of short-term placements I secured a role supporting University governance. That early exposure opened my eyes to the power of decision-making spaces and to how often those spaces fall short of being inclusive and representative. That experience sparked something in me. I saw how critical it was to have lived experience represented in leadership, and I knew I wanted to be part of changing that.
Over the following years, I built my knowledge across different roles in Oxford, eventually taking on a leadership position at a research centre focused on healthcare and urbanisation. Alongside this, I enrolled on a Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship. I was honoured to receive “Higher Apprentice of the Year” at both the University’s and Oxfordshire’s Apprenticeship Awards, and last autumn I graduated with a First-class degree, something I never imagined possible when I left school. That led to my appointment as Operations Manager.
It was during this journey that I came out as a trans woman, midway through my career. That experience was deeply personal but also unavoidably public, and it brought with it a host of challenges. I had to navigate shifting perceptions, internal doubt, and the uncomfortable reality that living authentically in professional spaces isn’t always easy. At times it felt like I had to prove my worth all over again. But it also clarified my purpose. Living openly allowed me to lead more honestly and helped me understand just how important visibility really is.
Motivated by my experiences in governance, I trained as a Young Trustee and have since served on several boards. These roles have often placed me as the youngest person at the table and frequently the only openly LGBTQ+ person. That visibility has come with challenges, but also with real purpose. I have seen a growing desire across many organisations to create more inclusive environments, but without lived experience in the room, even the best intentions can fall short. I feel driven by the desire to bridge that gap and ensure we move from intent to impact.
That is also what led me to take on broader roles supporting equality and inclusion. I currently serve as the first ever elected trans representative on Oxford’s LGBT+ Advisory Group, and I co-lead a University-wide community of practice on equity, diversity and inclusion. Both roles allow me to push for meaningful, systemic change, whether that is shaping policy, creating inclusive networks, or empowering others to lead. Beyond the University, I also contribute to community initiatives in Oxford that support and advocate for trans people, using my leadership experience to amplify their voices.
I have been lucky to have incredible mentors and line managers who recognised my potential and encouraged me to step into leadership. They demonstrated trust, flexibility, and care, all qualities I now strive to bring to my own leadership. I want the people I lead to feel confident in their abilities, trusted in their decisions, and free to show up as their whole and true selves. I want them to know their success will be celebrated and their growth fully supported. Most of all, I want them to understand this: they do not have to change who they are to belong; they belong because of who they are.
As a community, our strength lies in our willingness to listen, learn and act. Inclusion is not a destination or a fixed goal, it is a continuous, everyday practice. It means recognising difference not as a challenge, but as a strength. It means creating systems that adapt to meet people’s diverse needs, and fostering environments where everyone feels safe, valued, and empowered to contribute fully.
These values have never felt more urgent. In a time when being visibly trans can carry real risk, choosing to lead openly is both a challenge and a statement of strength. But leadership is not just about what you say, it is about how you show up. Visibility, when rooted in integrity and purpose, has the power to shift culture. And when leadership reflects the true diversity of our communities, it does not just represent change, it drives it. I stand proudly in who I am, because I know that every time we lead with authenticity, we make space for others to rise too.
Jessie Weavers-Medina
(She/her)
Centre Administrator,Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation, Kellogg College, Oxford, OX2 6PN
Transgender Representative, LGBT+ Advisory Board, University of Oxford
Co-Leader, EDI Community of Practice, University of Oxford
LGBTQIA + community leader extract 3
4th June 2024
I’m off work sick.
Sick in a chronic way and in an acute way.
A virus and asthma combo manifest in a disabling chest infection telling me to literally pause and catch my breath.
A reminder that I am a queer and trans human with disabilities and multiple chronic health conditions and whilst my self-confidence and competence want to tell me that the current onslaught of transphobia is yet another thing I can certainly handle as the chief exec of a mid-sized LGBTQ+ organization –
my body says no.
My body says remember.
Remember the COVID pandemic.
Remember the cost of living crisis and the funding crunch.
Remember being a witness in an inquest.
Remember that month of weekly smashed windows.
Remember three major surgeries in five years.
Remember being fearful of opening the news for the latest horrors of how those with power attack our community.
Remember you’ve been trying to survive in a world that says daily that you shouldn’t.
So that’s where I am for this reflection – in what I have accepted will be my final year at this organisation, and as I make choices about how I enable both myself and my community to thrive going forwards.
In the first couple of months of 2020, I took up this Chief Exec role. All our six remaining staff were part-time with a collective 111 contract hours between us. We had a funding cliff edge fast approaching and I set out having to simultaneously restructure, write a strategic plan, and oversee redundancy proceedings. My background in youth empowerment and advocacy was an asset – I hadn’t much certainty in how to get an organization out of these circumstances, but I did know how to consult and how to listen. I met with stakeholders, surveyed the young people using our services, and started drafting amidst a slow trickle of questions in early March 2020 – what will we be doing about COVID?
That’s how our 5-year strategy was born – Cultivating Community – and that document and the process to create it was essential to how the organization has endured so many internal and external challenges and continues all the stronger for it. Though it’s fair to say some of that strength has come from the depletion of my nervous, immune and digestive systems – navigating these challenges has not been without a physical toll because of the context in which we’ve been working for so long.
Dr Pip Jamie Gardner
LGBTQIA + community leader extract 4
What it means to write, to share our stories. I love writing. But usually there's security in that it is only for me. By writing I begin to process and it is sometimes clearer than thinking. My thoughts split off into many different directions, sometimes it’s hard to catch and stay with just one. But when I’m writing, this helps. Even when the writing goes into different tangents, I know how to catch them. I like that I can think about how I want to express myself and which words I want to use to best describe my feelings.
I know I have a lot to say. Words tumble out of me sometimes it feels uncontrollably. Sometimes I worry I am too much. Say too much, offload too much. Sometimes I worry that I am being overdramatic, victimising myself. But I know how to tell the stories of what has happened. I know how to listen to what I feel. It just comes out.
January 2023
I remember being shown around the Salisbury Centre and feeling like it was unreal. The smell of incense that had been burnt and still stained the air. It was homely too, comfortable. The large bay windows that filled the studio with golden light and overlooked a garden where they grew vegetables and herbs. The beautiful red rug. The library room, with all spiritual books. They even had a cat. It felt special, and the people there radiated this openness I envied. I didn’t know if I could belong there, but I wanted to. I was going to start offering regular queer yoga classes here.
March 2022
I remember doing the first course with the community yoga organisation. It was called ‘teaching yoga in community settings’. I was so excited to have got on, to have gotten the scholarship so I could afford it. I remember finding it so hard, because how could I be leading and supporting people, when I myself was in such need of this support. We learned how to teach yoga to people who didn’t know what safety was, to abuse survivors, addicts and folks that have self-harmed. I struggled because I was them.
I remember feeling so vulnerable and often unsupported and embarrassed. But so much I related to what we were learning, I was so keen to talk and discuss. It was my language.
I’m thinking about why I wanted to start the queer yoga classes, and the community. Who I was then. What I wanted. What type of space I craved. I wanted to do something I believed in, something that I really cared about. I wanted to feel part of a community and really support people. I also was craving to connect to my queerness in celebration and understanding, not shame.
I remember looking into different jobs after I quit working in marketing. I looked into jobs at women’s aid and LGBT Health and well-being. I guess I wanted to support people who had suffered similarly as me, to fight a system that had broken me so badly. I worked in care for some time. Really I still needed the support. I just didn’t know how to exist being that broken. You aren’t told you can stop. I needed to buy food, to pay rent. Moving back to my mum’s wasn’t an option for me - that had been taken away from me a long time ago. There was no stop. What was I meant to do? I’d left that job, then left another and another and another again and again.
LGBTQIA + community leader extract 5
My name is John Iveson, Director of Estates & Facilities at Anglia Ruskin University. I have worked in the higher education sector for thirteen years, having previously worked in the commercial venues sector.
In terms of leadership, I have learnt from good as well as poor leaders, stealing the best practices of good leaders and recognising poor behaviours. So, you learn how to be a good leader, as part of your management journey.
What I have learnt is that leadership is how you make a team feel after an interaction. i.e. warmth, supported and motivated.
In terms of being a gay man, with Estates & Facilities leadership, I think it helps me make better decisions, by being more inclusive and collaborative, especially around recruitment, culture and creating effective teams.
The most important skill is having empathy, which not everyleader has. For this I put myself in someone else’s position, to understand their needs, which supports effective relationships.
It about leading with compassion……..
