Q&A: The first LGBT Business Champion
Iain Anderson is the government’s new LGBT Business Champion who will drive forward workplace equality for LGBT people and focus on reducing workplace discrimination.
Iain Anderson has been appointed today — 10 September — as the government’s new LGBT Business Champion by The Minister for Women & Equalities, Liz Truss.
Iain brings a wealth of experience to the role, advising businesses on both a domestic and international level.
He is:
- the co-founder and executive chairman at Cicero/AMO and focuses on public policy and corporate communications strategy, supporting many global FTSE and Fortune 500 blue chip organisations.
He has also:
- been named one of the Financial Times / OUTstanding Global 100 Executives
- an FT Male Champion of Women in Business
- a Stonewall Ambassador
- is on the Queer Britain advisory board
- is a trustee of global LGBT rights charity GiveOUT.
Hear from Iain himself:
What is your top priorities?
To get large and small businesses working together. I think there’s a lot that large businesses have done, that they can use to help small businesses. We’re going to create a mentoring scheme to allow big and small companies to work together for LGBT progress.
We’ve also got Britain’s first global LGBT conference next year, and I want business to play a really big part in that event.
What is your idea of an inclusive workplace?
An inclusive workplace basically brings everybody to work being themselves: allowing them to be who they are, who they want to be, and to allow people to flourish.
What would you say to yourself at the beginning of your career? What would you say to someone else?
So, right at the start of my career, I wasn’t out. It took a while to be confident enough to be out at work.
Times have changed significantly. So, I would say: be yourself. I think you will drive towards you more opportunity. You will unleash your own capabilities and actually, I think you’ll help change the workplace.
What are you looking forward to most?
I think it’s really exciting that for the first time government is creating an LGBT champion around business. I’m really excited about that. So, we’re starting from scratch. I think the UK can be a beacon for LGBT progress at work. For customers, for employees, for everybody in the supply chain. So making that happen and having some tangible action for LGBT people in work, of all sizes. That’s what really excites me.
I’m really looking forward to taking on this role. I think the old phrase “what you can’t see you can’t be” is really important in this context.
What do businesses have to gain from inclusivity?
Taking inclusivity seriously is really important in business. Since I have embraced this agenda, my own business is about four times larger than it was before. There are benefits for those working in businesses, there are benefits for the wider economy. Frankly, you’re just going to do more business the more you embrace inclusivity.
Talking about that, sharing best practice, allowing people to be themselves at work, is going to be a really important part of this job.
Further information:
- The LGBT Business Champion is appointed by the Minister for Women and Equalities for a maximum term of 18 months, the position and role holder’s tenure can be renewed by another 18 months as necessary. The position is unpaid.
