Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month
“I think it’s important now more than ever to be present and do what you can to amplify and advocate for voices who may not have the ability to talk about their communities.”
Owen is the Marketing Operations Officer for Enterprise, where he supports the communications and marketing managers to deliver on their specific portfolios.
A passion for education
Owen has worked in higher education for ten years. He describes marketing and education as his two passions, and he has volunteered as both a school governor for Campsbourne School and Extended Services and as Communications Director for Outvertising, a not-for-profit organisation which works to make advertising more inclusive – both for those working in the sector, and in terms of advertising content.
Owen’s current role involves supporting a team of 12 staff in the Enterprise Division, each of whom look after a specific portfolio.
“When they need something to happen, especially when it comes to systems, I’m the person they come to. I describe myself as like the Wizard of Oz – if I’ve done my job well, you won’t see me, you’ll only see the outputs of my work.”
“I have an excellent manager and an excellent team. It’s really edifying to be surrounded by people who absolutely love their jobs.”
In the next year, Owen is looking forward to the White City move.
“At the moment, the Enterprise team is split over multiple buildings so I’m really excited to see what happens when everyone is back in the same location, and to see the impact of the exchange of ideas.”
Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month
Owen told us how he puts LGBTQ+ History Month in context with Pride.
“For me, Pride is more of a demonstration, it’s about drawing a line in the sand of where we are now and where we are going. History Month is more of a celebration and about where we’ve come from.
“We’re seeing the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights and the suppression of our voices in the world around us, and I think that History Month prevents that from happening. It identifies those people who made progress, made statements, and how that’s been built upon brick by brick – even if they didn’t know it at the time.”
He added: “Thinking about the present day, I think it’s important now more than ever to be present and do what you can to amplify and advocate for voices who may not have the ability to talk about their communities, their struggles, and the things they’ve achieved.
“Imperial aspires to get it right and that’s the important thing. I don’t expect a person to be perfect and I don’t expect an organisation to be perfect, and I think celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month is a great example of an authentic step towards authentic equality, diversity and inclusion.”
Inclusivity in action
For Owen, inclusivity is about accountability and visibility. Something he values at Imperial is the ways in which he’s able to provide feedback to the organisation – for example, with the White City move.
“My experience was that the organisation was really clear about the time frames, what was happening, why it was happening, and to whom it was happening.”
Owen also told us that he has a great manager who supports his workplace adjustments for ADHD.
“My manager has been amazing; she has asked me what resources she can use to better understand ADHD. For me, she’s a real role model in the sense of how management at Imperial should be. She didn’t need to know all the answers immediately, she just had to ask the questions and be engaged in the process.
“I haven’t been able to access my ADHD medication in a year because of national shortages and she’s really supported me through this period.
“She’s also made it easy for me to talk about my ADHD – which has enabled other people to come forward and do the same.”
Resources
Owen is a mental health first aider and highly recommends the provision to people. He also recommends Active Bystander training or active ally training, and speaking to your manager if you feel comfortable.
Read next
Find out what’s happening at Imperial for LGBTQ+ History Month.
Learn more about how to be an LGBTQ+ ally.
Connect with Able, Imperial’s disabled staff network, or Imperial 600, the network for LGBTQ+ staff and postgraduates.