- Conference
- 2022 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 27 July 2022
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference is concerned at the decreasing level of bisexual+ (bi+) engagement within UNISON structures at branch, regional and national level. At this year’s bi+ network meeting, attendance was significantly lower than previous years, especially from members with multiple identities.
It is crucial that we not only understand this decline in bi+ activism and engagement, but that we explore any barriers to participation that exist and work to remove them.
We know focussing recruitment and training can play a crucial role in increasing participation. Our bi+ members have a vital contribution in making UNISON truly diverse and inclusive, especially from those bi+ members who feel their voices are not heard within LGBT+ spaces.
For so many bi+ people the feeling of isolation, discrimination, and bi+ erasure is a daily experience in their workplaces. Stonewall’s most recent research highlights that whilst lesbian and gay visibility in the workplace exceeds 74% in some places, this is only 22% for bi+ employees.
Conference, not all members need to become stewards to be active in our union. There are many roles and campaigns that are open to bi+ members but they need to feel engaged and welcome.
We all have skills that can be utilised strategically, but we first need our members to feel engaged, valued and listened to. In addition, confidentiality is a key priority for our members to feel safe to participate, especially so for our bi+ members with multiple identities who may not be out to their communities.
Conference therefore calls on the national LGBT+ committee to work with the other
self-organised groups (sog) and national young members’ forum to:
1. Encourage participation of bi+ members with intersecting identities;
2. Consider confidentiality when accessing hybrid events;
3. Hold joint sog and young members’ events whenever possible to engage with bi+ members with multiple identities;
4. Review our glossary of terms to ensure the language used is fully inclusive of all identities.