6. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership: Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:03 pm on 29 June 2021.

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Photo of Hannah Blythyn Hannah Blythyn Labour 5:03, 29 June 2021

I thank Joyce Watson for her question and her work on this area as well, with other Members of the Senedd and the Senedd Commission too. I think, like you say, it's only right that the beacon of democracy in Wales, our Senedd, our Welsh Parliament, leads the way when it comes to creating inclusive and safe workplaces. And I think it goes back to what we said previously, that you can't underestimate the difference it would make to somebody by actually feeling they can be themselves in their place of work as well. 

Just to go back to a TUC survey of just a few years ago of LGBT+ workers across the UK, it found that two in five respondents had been harassed or discriminated against by a colleague, and only a third reported it to their employer. So, whilst we don't want that to happen in the workplace, people should also feel able that, actually, if there is an incident—. I hate to use the term, because it's not banter, because a joke to somebody is harmful to somebody else, but people need to feel, if something is said, that they feel safe and comfortable in raising that with their line manager or the appropriate person. And so I think credit where credit's due for the work that the Senedd has done on that, and I think it's only right that we share those examples with other workplaces and examples elsewhere in Wales of businesses that have done the right thing and that are leading the way, and, again, working with our colleagues across the trade union movement to make sure it's not the exception, it is the norm. This is what every workplace should be like.