Credera at Trans in the City 2019

Trans In the City is a fundraising event supported by over 60 companies in the City of London, who have partnered to demonstrate their support for all trans individuals.

Read next: Why visibility is important: International Transgender Day of Visibility 2020

Participating companies agreed to a ‘Trans Charter’ when signing up for the event, emphasising the importance of supporting employees to be their true selves, taking responsibility for organisationally committing to equality, accepting and embracing diversity, removing barriers from prejudice or discrimination, and creating inclusive and diverse work places where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

At the event, I gave a speech around what it means to be non-binary as well as enlightening the audience on the existence of historical artefacts that show genders outside of ‘male’ and ‘female’ are not new, but are mentioned back as far as some of the earliest known human writings from the second millennium BC.

Credera were represented by a large group of people, so I asked them to share how they experienced the event and what they would be taking away from it:

"It was an incredible opportunity to meet such accomplished and poised individuals, speaking so eloquently and openly about their experiences. I found the statistics on violence and discrimination against trans people devastating, it’s something which isn’t spoken about openly but is clearly important to remember.”

> Nina Kenyon, Managing Consultant

“As someone with a keen interest in mental health awareness, I was warmed to see the community spirit that resonated through the room last night. The bravery and geniality each speaker possessed, especially during harrowing personal anecdotes, acted (for me, at least) as a resolute reminder of how similar we really all are: we are just a bunch of people trying to navigate the best we can through a society governed by haphazard stereotypes and gender expectations. The least we can do is recognise this and be good friends, colleagues and family members who welcome others with an open mind.”

> Katherine Hockley, Marketing Manager

“I had a wonderful evening at TiTC last night. It was a warm and welcoming event full of people happy to share their journeys, which are both personal and often painful. Some of the stories of judgement are quite horrendous but they were told with humour and shared to enlighten us all. I have been to a few events now and each time learned new things to share with my wider network. It can’t be underestimated the wider reach some of this education can have. At TiTC there was a fantastic selection of speakers from all industries and interests and I am so grateful to these role models who give up their time and some of their privacy for this cause.

My only disappointment was that we got so interested in Shadow’s views on ‘there are more colours’ we forgot to ask to see a picture of their Norwegian Forest cats!”

> Sophie Hills, Finance Manager

“It was great to see the movement towards inclusion, accepting and diversity. If we don't understand or know of an issue, It shouldn't mean we can discriminate against it. I will keep supporting movements towards equality, tolerance, and inclusion.”

> Baraa Kouja, Consultant

“The Trans in the City event was a fabulous showcase of what can be achieved when a group of people come together to provide support, advocate and educate a community. There is a real power of the collective with organisations signing up to the Trans Charter and working continuously to ensure their workplaces are inclusive, that individuals are recognised for who they truly are or want to be and that colleagues feel confident and able to truly bring their whole selves to work.

"There is a misrepresentation in the media of the Trans Community and the abuse faced is unrelenting; the resulting number of suicides, self-harm and murders continues; there is still time, of course, to change this so that younger generations feel truly accepted. One of the key take-aways from the event was quite how ‘gendered’ our society is; from the forms we have to fill out identifying us as either female or male, to the bathrooms we use on a daily basis and the pronouns that are used to describe individuals – he/she/they. These may seem small but there are many changes that can be made to create a much more inclusive environment for all.”

> Emily Markey, Managing Consultant

"Personally, I found it an enlightening and somewhat sobering event. There were some very sad but also uplifting stories, and the honesty, passion and explanation of the challenges faced due to society prejudice was quite emotional. The examples given in the context of todays negative, uneducated media coverage resonated with me the most. A big name check to Kim Warren, who presented an excellent speech in front of a packed audience (to some of the loudest applause!)

We should all, as part of the Credera family, be very proud of how far we have come, and our continued efforts to be such a great, open and inclusive place to work should never stop.

> John Kendrick, Credera Diversity, Inclusion & Support Community Chair

"Attending the Trans in the City event last night on the Transgender day of remembrance was a more moving experience than I was ready for.  Feeling the warmth in the room and hearing stories of such pain from the trans people who spoke so openly and bravely was both emotional and uplifting. 

I’m so proud that Credera has signed up to the Transgender Charter as a public statement of our commitment to acceptance and inclusion.  We all have an important part to play in helping to eradicate the pain that transgender, gender fluid and non-binary people can experience in coming out and being able to be who they are everyday."

> Helen Kilvington, Chief People Officer

Knowing that I have had Credera’s support throughout the planning and execution of this event has been invaluable, and it was amazing to fill our entire ticket allocation and see so many colleagues there to support me on the night. The atmosphere was incredibly positive, and I’m hopeful that we can channel this into meaningful change to help make the wider corporate world more friendly and accessible to transgender people.

The success of this event was a testament to work put in by a large group of individuals, which Credera was glad to contribute to as one of the event’s official partners. Our values are strongly aligned to those in the ‘Trans charter’, and we strive to create an environment in which everyone feels that they can be themselves, finding this to be the best way to allow our employees to thrive and in turn to be able to give the best to our clients.