Greater openness and diversity in the PS workplace presents managers with new challenges says Blair McPherson who wonders if the rules change as the managers do...

Managing gay men – is it different?

   By Blair McPherson*

In the public sector they – the management – thought gender was no longer an issue but the statistics on women in top jobs proved that wrong.
   They assumed race had been over taken by faith in the ‘be careful what you say’ category but were still wary.
   They regarded disability as an occasional recruitment issue despite the prevalence of mental health problems in the population.
   But it was sexuality that was making them feel uncomfortable.
   They kept coming across references to gay, lesbian, bi sexual and transsexuals.
   Managers had heard the one about the man who wanted to be a woman and the human resources department’s advice that he/she should use the unisex disabled toilets.
“Senior women managers felt most excluded”
   Most viewed that as an interesting HR issue but not an everyday management headache.
   No, the hot issue was managing gay men.
   In one case, ever since the Chief Executive had come out as gay, the organisation had become decidedly gay friendly.
   It was most noticeable at Head Office where there was a dramatic increase in the number of young gay men employed.
   The organisation had probably always had the usual cross section of people within its staff group but the difference was people now felt empowered and able to discuss or even flaunt their sexuality.
   Or at least the men did.
   However, whereas people were clear on the rules for behaviour at work for heterosexuals were they different for gays?
   The former Chief Executive had a bit of a reputation for surrounding himself with young women so was this Chief Executive’s behaviour any more unacceptable?
   The former Chief Executive wasn’t in the habit of inviting his junior staff out to lunch or for after work drinks. So it was the cliquey nature of the changed behaviour that drew the comments – these same young men seemed to be on a lot of working groups chaired by the Chief Exec.
   Clearly, some managers felt that some of their staff had more access to the Chief Exec than they did. And some staff made the most of this dropping into the conversation at every opportunity what the Chief Exec had said at lunch yesterday or on Friday when a group of them went for a drink after work.
“People were clear on the rules for behaviour at work for heterosexuals”
   The implication was clear, they had a powerful friend.
   This was perceived as a potential problem should there be issues of time keeping, attendance or quality of work.
   Managers also claimed to feel under pressure to approve applications to attend conferences and workshops which they felt were more about sexuality than of direct relevance to the business.
   But it was the senior women managers who felt most excluded.
   They referred to the “gay mafia” and complained they were often out of the loop since conversation had obviously taken place outside of senior management team meetings.
   It all came to an abrupt end with the Chief Exec’s sudden departure and the installation by the Board of an acting Chief Exec who was a woman.
   Managers are not always comfortable with the diverse nature of the modern workforce.
   In the past, people management issues tended to be about tackling homophobic bullying, inappropriate ‘jokes’ and supporting staff who felt they were being excluded or talked about because of their sexuality.
   Now we have managers who don’t know whether they are feeling uncomfortable because of a person’s sexuality or because the behaviour is inappropriate.

* Blair McPherson is a UK-based writer with a long experience in the Public Service. He is the author of An Elephant in the Room – an equality and diversity training manual’ and Equipping managers for an uncertain future and can be contacted at blairmcpherson@yahoo.com
   This article first appeared on www.publicservice.co.uk
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