Taking the leap
Royal Mail Group marked Bi Visibility Day on Sunday 23 September by flying the bisexual flag over our head offices in Farringdon, London.
Today, in a show of support for our bisexual colleagues, the LGBT+ & Friends steering group are sharing an anonymous insight from one of their members about her experience of being bisexual.
‘Being bi is just part of who I am and something that I have come to accept and acknowledge about myself. In a way, it’s no big deal to me. I am currently in a straight relationship and I don’t feel as though it is something that everyone needs to know about me.
‘But at the same time, it is a big deal, simply because some people would suddenly see me as a completely different person if they knew I was bisexual.
‘I have heard the way some colleagues speak about others that are part of the LGBT+ spectrum and it’s horrible. It’s as though they have just discovered some kind of dark secret. For these reasons and more, I am not currently ‘out’ at work - I just don’t feel like I’m in a safe enough environment where I can totally be myself.
‘I have already experienced some bullying at work purely because I’m a woman in a male-dominated environment and I know this would only add fuel to the fire. I often feel as though I am not supported in my workplace as a female, let alone as a bisexual female.
‘I think we need to be more supportive of everyone. It saddens me to think that in the foreseeable future, I will never get to the point where I can be out at work because in my opinion, we still have such a long way to go before men and women are accepted as equal, let alone anyone who dares to be different.’
Supporting our people
Are you bisexual? Do you want to be a part of something brilliant? Share your story or become a role model and help make the B in LGBT more visible! The LGBT+ & Friends steering group would love to hear from you.
You can contact them or subscribe to their newsletter by emailing: LGBT&Friends@royalmail.com. If you want to join their protected Facebook group, just email them with your pay number and the email address you use to sign into Facebook and they will send you an invite.
