IAIN ANDERSON Government appointed LGBT+ Business Champion to talks to Peter Darrant, from Pride Radio Media Centre, Pelaw about his latest appointment.
Iain Anderson is the new LGBT+ business champion and I am delighted he is joining me to chat about his new role. It sounds like a grand title, I didn’t see it at careers at school, what does it mean Iain?
Absolutely, no careers service was going to give you this job at all. Look, it’s very good to be with you. First time the Government has had this role, so I’m kind of making it up as I go along. If I am really honest with you. But no, there are two or three really, really key priorities. Firstly, to showcase some brilliant work going on by LGBT businesses and allies. There’s not a lot of research and evidence the Government has collected so far on what really works, so first job is to get out, meet businesses, and find out what works.
Secondly, we are going to put together a large company – small company buddying scheme. Large companies, they’ve got diversity people, HR people. Small companies – it’s just a bit harder to do sometimes. So, we are going to do some signposting, get bigger companies to help smaller companies, actually probably get some smaller companies to show big companies what to do in that regard, too. I mean, I used to run an SME that I’ve taken into a larger business, so I kind of understand that.
And then the third thing, and I am really, really excited about this…Is there’s going to be a global conference next year? This is the first time the UK has ever held an LGBT+ conference, and it’s hopefully going to secure some pretty important domestic and global changes.
In your role, who do you report to? Do you get to sit at the top table? Is Boris there? Can you say “Chancellor, can we have some more money?” Or are you reporting back and saying this is how we should shape policy going forward?
So, think of this as like a commissioner. My job is to take what I am hearing from businesses in their space, back to government. And ultimately, this reports to the foreign secretary and the minister for women and equalities. But also, you know, my role has been kind of approved by the prime minister, too. So, this goes to Boris as well, and I know his team is taking a really active interest in the conversations that we are having.
It’s a new role and you identify within the LGBT+ community. I’m interested to know what this role would have meant to you in business ten or twenty years ago? Is this role a big gamechanger?
When I first came into the world of work, the idea of being “out” just wasn’t possible. When I launched my business, like many of us, I was out to my friends, but not necessarily out to my customers. I wish I’d made that decision to be out at work and in my business much, much earlier in my life. Since I’ve been out, my business is five times larger than it was before. So, I’ve seen the benefits of that, both as a businessman and as an activist in this space. Um.. I’ve worn what I’ve seen, and what I am kind of scooping out from being out and about in sight, and the economy if you can be out and about in the economy. Get some real examples to take to government.
They’ve done an awful lot, to be fair, around gender, they’ve done an awful lot, to be fair, around race. But this whole space is not very wellresearched by government, and I want to try and change that. If you’d told me this job could have existed when I, you know, was kind of first coming into… into the world of work, I would have been amazed. It wouldn’t have been possible thirty years ago. It shows how much has changed, but there’s still a lot more to do.
What advice would you have given yourself thirty years ago? Because we’ve got a lot of young businesses people that will be reading this.
I just think being comfortable with yourself. I just think you’re freer with your thoughts. I just think you’re more creative with your ideas. I just think you’re more grounded… I could go on, and on, and on. You know, you’re not hiding, you’re not compartmentalizing things anymore. You’re not saying one thing out of one corner of your mouth to a certain audience and saying something out of another corner of your mouth to another audience. I just think it allows you to be freer. And actually, saying beyond LGBTQ, I mean, if you are freer, and you are more open, I think more comes towards you. I think that’s the opportunity. I mean, in pure raw economic terms, as I was saying, my business is five times larger than it was before I did this.
So, lots to do in your new role. I guess we’ll have to watch what happens over the coming months? Yes, watch very carefully!
