"I think everybody has their own path to take and people should travel down their path at their own pace – that is so important – do not rush. On the other hand, we only have one life to lead so try not to take too long to be your authentic self – it will lift what can sometimes feel an immense burden from your shoulders."

Greg Feehely (he/him), Senior VP of Investor Relations at THG, shares his insights on the evolution of LGBQT+ acceptance in the workplace, reflecting on his own experiences of coming out as a gay man in the finance industry and how it's shaped his personal and professional journey.

In your experience, how would you describe the evolution of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the workplace? 

Nothing short of miraculous to be honest. But that has much to do with my age! I started working full-time in 1993, on the graduate training programme of a large Investment Bank in the City of London, where I went on to become a Consumer Sector Research Analyst, a role I would do for the next 18 years or so. 

The trading floor environment was what I describe as very macho, sexist, misogynistic and most definitely homophobic – so it won’t surprise you that in this role I was not out in my workplace! It would most definitely have been career limiting and given it was both a job that I loved and believed I was well suited to (and good at!), I just kept my head down and got on with it. 

Of course, the world was a very different place then. The threat of AIDS in the 80’s and 90’s was pretty pervasive to me; remember it was only in 1987 that the first antiretroviral drug to prevent the growth of the HIV virus was introduced in the NHS and it wasn’t until 1996 that antiretroviral treatments became far more effective and garnered, literally, life changing results where patient outcomes began to dramatically improve. Initially, and indeed for some time after, HIV was associated in the media with gay and bisexual men in particular, which only worsened homophobic/biphobic attitudes at the time. 

This of course overlapped with Section 28, which was a particularly nasty piece of legislation that prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’, introduced in 1988 and not repealed in England and Wales until 2003! A British Social Attitudes Survey, I think in 1987 (the year before Section 28 was enacted), revealed that some 75% of the population believed that homosexual activity was ‘always or mostly wrong’ with only just over 10% stating it was ‘not wrong at all’. 

So very different times to today, thankfully, and looking back I am incredibly relieved that in many ways things are so much better now.
 

Have you found that your experience being gay has shaped or impacted your career in any way? 

Interestingly I left that Bank for a role at a different one at the turn of the Century and I took the decision from Day 1 that I would be ‘out’ in this new work environment as indeed I had been in my personal life by then for many years. 

That’s not to say it was immediately plane sailing, but attitudes were most definitely changing for the better and aside for one or two individuals most of my colleagues were either entirely unfazed or indeed very supportive. It’s incredibly encouraging how quickly this all seemed to take place and this has pretty much remained the case to this day. I’ve never once said partner instead of husband since, which is more important and indeed liberating than I had originally imagined, allowing you to bring your best self to work which thankfully is now quite firmly embedded in the cultures of the companies I have worked at since.

What does the celebration of Pride mean to you and if you do, how do you like to celebrate? 

Pride is firstly a day (in some cases now a month!) of celebration of how far we have come, the obstacles that have been overcome, remembering those that unfortunately were not able to celebrate in such a fashion and also not forgetting that there is still much to do across our wider community, in particular in working harder for equality for our trans and non-binary communities. 

I’ve been lucky to attend Pride marches and celebrations in London, Manchester, Brighton, Stockholm and Madrid amongst others – Sydney remains on the wish list. I led a team of 75 colleagues participating in the London Pride Parade for one of my last companies – the first time they had participated, and I was very honoured to do so. These days I’m more a supportive spectator, although I do participate in my (very) local Pride in Clapham, London, where I live with my husband.
 

What advice would you give to other LGBTQ+ professionals who may be struggling with their identity or considering coming out? 

I think everybody has their own path to take and people should travel down their path at their own pace – that is so important – do not rush. On the other hand, we only have one life to lead so try not to take too long to be your authentic self – it will lift what can sometimes feel an immense burden from your shoulders. 

In the absence of a family member or friend to confide in and help you, there are a plethora of wonderfully supportive organisations across our broad community who are there to help. 

I’m a big fan of allies – I suspect there are more of them out there than you think – and I truly hope you find yours. 

In your opinion, what are the most effective ways companies can create more inclusive and supportive environments for LGBTQ+ employees? 

Personally, I think in the post-pandemic environment as people migrate ever more back to the office, all work communities need a reboot! People fall out of habits quickly and it’s important to remind people what supportive communities exist for them in their workplace. Internal communications and visibility are key – and dare I say it, (and clearly within reason) managers allowing their team members to attend events, discussions, networking events. 

Collation of and response to feedback is also super important – although I’ve only been at THG a little over a year, it’s very clear to me that the leadership team takes this very seriously. 

Finally, I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s so important – allyship – supporting and helping others is crucial for inclusion and equality in the workplace.
 

As one of our more senior sponsors of the Pride Collective network, what do you want to get out of this role and what are you hoping to see the network achieve over the next year? 

I’d love to see the network reinvigorated and become a supportive and safe space for all. I’m keen to kick off a series of motivational speakers, with the first one a very good friend of mine who is coming into Icon at the end of June – watch this space! In time as the internal network re-establishes itself it would be good to see some external social events and ultimately, I’d love to see us do something with Manchester Pride.