ASDA’s Support for Transgender Colleagues

Asda’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has seen a huge increase in engagement from transgender colleagues across the organisation.

In June 2014 a business-wide survey found that Asda needed to do more to support colleagues who identified as transgender, having already undergone transition or were going through the process, in line with the organisation’s Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

The findings were backed up by increasing numbers of queries from line managers and people managers about supporting transgender colleagues in their teams.

Hayley Tatum, Senior Vice President of People and Stores for Asda, explained that following the survey the wheels were quickly set in motion to address the concerns transgender colleagues had raised.

She said: “Our people make Asda a really special place to work and looking after our colleagues and making sure they feel valued is really important.

“No matter what minority group our colleagues identify with we want them to feel as much a part of the Asda culture as anybody else.

“After listening to our transgender colleagues it was clear that we had work to do to ensure that they felt valued and engaged and that is exactly what we did and continue to work on throughout the business.”

Some key actions were identified to ensure that transgender colleagues feel supported at work, including setting up listening groups with support from Stonewall Scotland.

Transgender colleagues expressed a number of concerns in the listening groups, from feelings of isolation, a lack of education about transgender issues and fears about taking time off work for procedures to concerns about bathroom and changing facilities, and being stereotyped or ‘outed.’

Some colleagues even pointed to people having a fear of transgender, while it was clear that there was a lack of support internally and no clear policy in place.

The listening groups helped to gain a greater depth of understanding about how Asda’s transgender colleagues were feeling and a number of measures were identified which the business needed to implement to honour its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

A Transgender Policy, which incorporates a manger’s toolkit, was developed along with Stonewall and Asda’s in-house legal team. Asda’s Bullying and Harassment Guidelines were altered to include examples of transphobia and the correct use of pronouns and names. A zero tolerance approach to negative behaviour towards transgender colleagues has been adopted and a line manager guide has been established to ensure consistent best practice.

Other support mechanisms to help make life easier for transgender colleagues in the work place have also been introduced, including clear access to Asda’s LGBT Network and external agencies, such as Stonewall, via the internet.

One of the initiatives which had the biggest impact was an internal video called Getting to Know You. The emotive video features two transgender colleagues who spoke about their experience at Asda and how they have been supported at work.

They shared insights into how they felt at work while transitioning and how they dealt with the effects of taking medication and undergoing hormone treatment.

Gemma Leatherbarrow, who featured in the video, is grateful for the support of Asda and her colleagues while she went through her transition.

She said: “I don’t think Asda could do much more than they have to show respect for the individual – they do a marvellous job of that. I don’t think I would be here today if it wasn’t for the support of my colleagues.

“I would say to any transgender colleagues out there: don’t be scared. I know it can be one of the most frightening things in the world to take that first step but just do it – you are in the perfect environment.”

Adrian Nelms also opened up about his experience in the video, praising his colleagues for their support and saying he never had to hide the fact that he was transgender.

He added: “My colleagues have been fantastic, even to the point where if I needed to vent, I could vent at them and they would not take it personally as they are aware of what is going on and the changes I have been going through, which is brilliant.

“Just be who you are, who you always wanted to be or who you should have been in the first place. Don’t try and be something that you’re not. Take any support that is on offer – I have done and it’s helped me.”

Since Asda’s work on transforming its approach, transgender colleague engagement has more than doubled in the space of 12 months, with further initiatives in the pipeline to increase that engagement further.

Asda was the first headline sponsor of Sparkle , Europe’s largest transgender celebration, and is committed to working with them long-term to support transgender colleagues and the wider community.

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