Don’t rest on your laurels, there’s always more we can do
LBS Director of People Services, Peter England, discusses his views around representation and why it matters in the workplace
Peter joined the London Business School last year as Director of People Services. As the leader of the People team’s Employee Relations, Reward, Payroll, and People Analytics and Insights, he is responsible for collaborating with managers to make data-driven decisions regarding staff-related matters. Before coming to LBS, he spent five years working for the England & Wales Cricket Board, part of a varied career that has crossed media, advertising, and digital.
But despite this diversity of sectors, having cumulatively worked with hundreds of colleagues, Peter has only come across two open LGBTQ+ leaders. Some may not see the issue with that – but for Peter, representation is essential. “People should know they are part of an organisation that embraces diversity and inclusivity, one that challenges discrimination and heteronormative assumptions, and shows that as an LGBTQ+ person, there are no barriers to reaching senior leadership.
Peter came out for the first time when he was 15 years old – but, as he explains, “because I’m an open gay man, I am still always coming out. You never stop coming out.” Whenever he starts a new job or meets a new set of friends, he often feels he has to come out again. And always, the unaired question is: will he be accepted?
And yet, Peter is also very upfront about the fact that he has been privileged to never have to deal with the same level of prejudice many others in the LGBTQ+ community face. “I’ve been lucky,” he says, “but I’ve known friends and acquaintances who have had a very tough time coming to terms with who they are and their sexuality. Even some who have unfortunately taken their lives as part of that.”
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<h4>"Representation has different</h4> <h4>effects for everyone."</h4>
These kinds of tragedies are another part of why Peter is adamant that representation is so important – and he has seen first-hand the positive effect it can have on people’s lives. A particularly poignant anecdote stems from his time at the Cricket Board. Male sports do not generally have a reputation for being the most liberal of activities when it comes to acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. When England wicketkeeper Steve Davis came out earlier this year, it was enough of a shake up to warrant several news articles to be written, many chronicling the shockingly small number of fellow professional sports players who have done so.
So, when Peter set up the LGBTQ+ staff network at the Cricket Board, and led it as the first UK sports governing body to take part in the Pride of London March, he was surprised at the reaction they received. “We got coverage on Sky, and other media partners,” Peter enthuses, “and letters from members of local cricket teams who said that just seeing us do that made it comfortable for them to come out to their teams.”
Representation has different effects for everyone. Seeing other cricketers marching in the parade, helped people feel more comfortable. Seeing the reaction their straight teammates had to that representation, helped people identify allies. In short: representation made a difference.
Peter hasn’t always thought of it as his responsibility to stand out, “I didn't always take part in activism. Being gay was just a part of my personality,” he explains. But as he’s moved through life, and his career, he has gradually seen the need for it, and his philosophy has changed. “If you’re an out gay or Queer person in a leadership position, I think you do have at least a small responsibility to make sure you’re creating a safe space,” Peter says. This doesn’t necessarily mean marching in London Pride on national TV. It can start with putting your pronouns in your email signatures, something all LBS staff, faculty and students are encouraged to do.
This is part of London Business School’s Pronoun Initiative – one of LBS’ more recent LGBTQ+ initiatives. It begins with including pronouns in email signatures, but in a broader sense, it means ensuring that across the School, people’s gender identities are affirmed and a safe space is created by referring to people in the way that feels most accurate to them. Aside from the Pronouns Initiative, there is also a relatively nascent, but strong, organised LGBTQ+ community at LBS that Peter is an active member of.
Shortly after beginning at LBS, he joined the Proud network, which has been running for two years, attending their events which includes inviting LGBTQ+ speakers to demonstrate different perspectives. There are also plans for collaboration – bringing in power through numbers – working with the Out in Business group at LBS, and Pride networks at other universities. And the network shouldn’t stop there, Peter also talks about the need for intersectionality, and the power that comes from different groups standing together.
“I think we are an inclusive environment at LBS,” Peter says, “but don’t rest on your laurels, there’s always more we can do.
