OUTbound is the LGBTQ+ Colleague Network Group (CNG) at Transport for London (TfL) | London, UK

OUTbound is the LGBTQ+ Colleague Network Group (CNG) at Transport for London (TfL). Our Mission is that our members show up as themselves and are seen, heard and considered in all aspects of our workplace and feel included. We provide LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies with opportunities to connect and allies with opportunities to connect with one another to support them and help them develop. Working alongside charities, community interest groups in the LGBTQ+ community, we are committed to championing colleagues to be authentic at work because people are more productive when they no longer need to hide their identity, which leads them lead happier and healthier lives.
We strive hard to deliver a programme that is meaningful for our members. Based on feedback from a members survey that we undertook in October 2023, we have developed a strategic engagement plan based on 6 priority areas including history and heritage, trans and non-binary, communication and education and outreach. We also build on key dates in the diversity calendar including Trans Day of Remembrance, IDAHOBIT day, Lesbian Visibility Week, LGBT History Month, Pride Month and provide a relevant programme around these and well as provide social forums for members to connect and collaborate. This year’s LGBTQ+ History Month is a good example of this. The theme was ‘Medicine – Under the Scope’ which was quite challenging to make relevant for a TfL as a public transport provider. However, we thought through what we thought would be meaningful for colleagues and what would also speak to the theme of History Month and ran three webinars; a focus on sexual health, starting and growing a family and the healthcare journey of the trans community. We invited in external experts from hospitals, HIV charities and people with lived experience to help shape these discussions.
We recognise that intersectionality plays a fundamental role in our workforce and we partner with the other CNGs across the business to build in a richness into our colleague outreach work. For example, for Lesbian Visibility Week, we partnered with our Women’s CNG to host an event at the Vagina Museum in London – entitled ‘Finding the TfL spot’. We explored the history and meaning of lesbian identities through a panel discussion with women from across the business who talked openly about their lived experience. We also held round table discussions on women’s health topics including, menstrual health, menopause and allyship. We also partnered with our Parents, Carers and Guardians CNG to host an event exploring parenting of trans and non-binary children.
Pride in London is not only an event that we support through OUTbound, but it is a significant for TfL as a transport provider. It is one of the busiest days on the network throughout the year and we have a role to play in making sure that everything runs smoothly with the Pride in London organisers (the event takes place on roads that TfL manages), ensuring the customer travel information is correct and ensuring that there are customer awareness campaigns on hate crime running at this time to keep customers safe. We have a rich Pride programme throughout Pride month which centres on a theme – this year was volunteering. You can read more about some of our activities in our Pride press release https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2024/june/tfl-advises-londoners-to-check-before-they-travel-ahead-of-pride-in-london-parade We built on some of our existing ‘Every Story Matters’ vehicle wraps and wrapped the 10 gondolas of the cable car for the very first time. They made such an impact gliding across the Thames – especially lit up in the night sky in rainbow colours.
The theme of volunteering has been so important to us at OUTbound as we wanted to shine a light on unsung heroes both within and outside of the organisation. We wanted to demonstrate the value of volunteering for individuals and communities in terms of health and wellbeing, sharing skills and expertise, and get to the heart of what volunteering is all about – and get across that many charities, clubs and organisations just wouldn’t survive without them. Volunteers are vital!
As part of our Pride month activity, we held a Ride in a Pride Train event with OUTbound members, allies and representatives from HIV charities. The event was hosted by the Transport Commissioner, CEO of the Mildmay Hospital and OUTbound. We rode in our ‘Every Story Matters’ wrapped train along the Mildmay line and heard from HIV activist, Historian Dan Glass. A to our social media most about the event can be viewed here https://www.facebook.com/reel/993626378619899
We also partnered with London Transport Museum to host a Pride Late – On the Move which celebrated LGBTQ+ transport workers contribution to London life. We helped to curate the event and held a Q&A session about OUTbound.