Straight Allies

16
Straight allies also believe that messages coming from senior straight
leaders show opponents of gay equality that they are out of step with
the core values of the organisation.
I’ve had grumbles ‘why are we giving extra attention to people
who’re gay or lesbian?’ And the reason is because we have a
history in policing where our culture was not positive. We have
to make sure that history is buried and that we’re understanding
and welcoming. My aim is always intellectual buy-in from those
that are resistant – I think the worst thing you can do is to
isolate and ignore them. I want those people in the training
room, saying what they think. A successful encounter will be
that they understand the work we’re doing as an organisation,
how this fits into their own role and that they understand how
their colleagues feel if there are negative attitudes about.
Alex Marshall, Chief Constable, Hampshire Constabulary
Top leaders recognise the limits of what they can do. Whilst they’re
not in a position to drive every gay equality initiative personally,
holding senior management to account is one of their most effective
tools to advance gay equality in their workplaces.
I make sure line management absolutely understands that it’s
high on my agenda. People really look for consistency of
messaging so I focus on the people and diversity agenda
regularly with my management team. By inference I’m
encouraging them to do their level best to adopt an embracing
attitude to their staff. David Cornick, Vice President of Business
Partners & Mid-Market for NE Europe, IBM
Commitment to diversity is a core value for us at Goldman Sachs.
Our performance evaluation of senior managers includes a
diversity score card which measures the events and training
sessions they attend and their participation in delivering training.
Our senior managers are also measured on the contributions
they make to diversity broadly as part of our performance review
system which directly affects promotion and compensation. Glenn
Earle, Chief Operating Officer of European Businesses, Goldman Sachs