The following is a profile of a senior LGBT+ champion at MI5

For me, being the senior champion for LGBT is one of the most important aspects of my role as a Board member. My organisation aims to be the very best – it can only do so if we are an inclusive workplace, which welcomes people from all walks of life and allows everyone to give of their best.

I consider a key responsibility of being the Board champion for LGBT to be in representing the interests of LGBT people in board level discussions of HR issues such as recruitment, deployment, staffing and workplace matters. It’s vital that there is a voice at the Board table who is always consciously thinking about LGBT issues in such decisions. It is also important to actively show that the Board takes LGBT issues seriously and having a senior champion demonstrates to the whole workforce that there is senior and visible leadership on diversity and inclusion and the Board consider this an important part of our corporate success.

I am very lucky that we have such an active, committed and effective LGBT network, as well as an HR department that is fully behind us, a growing allies network and commitment from all levels of the organisation – all of this makes me job easy!

I am proud of the strides we have made in becoming a more inclusive employer for all LGBT people and am delighted that this has been recognised externally through various nominations and awards. All of this shows people both within our organisation and in the outside world, that we are committed to being an inclusive workplace and that they can feel comfortable coming to work for our organisation. That helps us attract the best talent, lets people perform to the best of their abilities and allows us to achieve our aims.

MI5 is a sponsor of the ‘Inclusive Employer or Company’ category at the British LGBT Awards 2019.