When Sam was about to begin transitioning, he knew he would have to tell his colleagues. His voice and appearance would soon change, so it was something that he could not — and should not — hide.
The problem was, the idea of being open and honest at work filled him with dread. He’d always had a good relationship with his colleagues, but when it came to something as important as aligning his gender, he just didn’t know how they’d react.
“I was really anxious,” says Sam. “I was so worried that people might not like me anymore, or think that I was too different to speak to.” This anxiety was shared by Siemens UK Chief Executive Juergen Maier, who recently spoke out about hiding his sexuality from colleagues for more than 15 years.
Wanting to be honest, Sam broke the news in 2015 and found he had drastically underestimated his colleagues. “Prior to my first testosterone shot
I wanted to explain that there might be some changes with my body and maybe with my mood,” he says. “All of them said: ‘Okay cool, so you’re a trans guy — it doesn’t matter.’” It was far from the dramatic response he’d feared.
“This was a topic I’d struggled with my whole life, thinking it might cause a lot of intolerance and lack of understanding. Instead, they accepted me for who
I am.”
Siemens celebrates Christopher Street Day
In 2016, Sam and his friends took part in the Christopher Street Day parade
in Berlin, an annual LGBT+ celebration held in various locations around the world. He had no idea that Siemens had any involvement in the parade, and was surprised when he saw a brightly coloured truck manned by dozens of
his colleagues.
“Honestly I was very proud at that moment,” he says. “To know that my company is working really hard on the diversity topic makes me proud to work at Siemens,” he says.
Feeling inspired Sam wasted no time, asking staff how he could get involved and join the PRIDE network at Siemens in Berlin. “I had such a great time with these people that I knew I really wanted to work with them and begin to build something,” he says.
Committed to making a difference
Sam has kept his word and, over the past year, has been an active member of the PRIDE network — regularly organizing events and activities championing LGBT+ issues.
Last year, Sam and eight of his colleagues helped to design and organize the Christopher Street Day truck — 200 members of staff attended the parade in 2017, and Siemens will have a strong presence at this year’s event, too. Sam
is also supporting a scheme that encourages people to place a LGBT+ sticker on their work laptop. “The idea is that you show the whole world, and even your customers, that you are an ally with the LGBT+ people here at Siemens,” he says.
Keen to improve the links between networks in various Siemens offices and connect people across the country, Sam met with 20 representatives from
six Siemens LGBT+ networks in April 2018 to discuss future activities for the PRIDE groups, which included relaunching their internal and external websites.
Having the confidence to be yourself
By feeling comfortable to be his true self at work and by learning to celebrate rather than fear difference, Sam has felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He’s grown in confidence and believes his performance at work has improved. “I think for every person, it’s the best thing to be honest with yourself and with the people you work with every day. Otherwise, you hide the person you really are and it feels like you’re playing a role in order to fit in,” he says.
Inspired by his own experiences at Siemens, Sam has made it his mission within the PRIDE network to help others be truly authentic. “I’ve met people who feel that they can’t or won’t come out at work, and I’ve seen how restrictive that can be. I want to be visible for those who can’t be,” he says.
Having found his voice, he hopes he will give others the confidence to join him. “If you have the will to change and build something that helps people do better at work and feel safer at Siemens, then please join us,” he says.
Sam started as an apprentice at Siemens in 2010, and joined the company full-time in 2014. He is now a Commercial Project Manager, and lives in Berlin, Germany. Find out more about working at Siemens.
