‘As a queer person you are always coming out’

In partnership with myGwork

Dirk Pschichholz is a people person, working in talent acquisition for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. He talks to myGwork about counteracting stereotypes and working to protect the rights we have. 

Dirk Pschichholz is someone that always wanted to work with people and now spends his time helping Vertex Pharmaceuticals find the best talent and is a key part of their LGBTQ+ community.

Dirk grew up in rural west Germany in a very liberal and open and caring home. “I was there with my parents, brother and other relatives nearby. I had a great group of friends and it was a village where everyone knew everyone.” Dirk lived his life as any other teenager might and had strong bonds with his loved ones. “As a teenager, I experienced the normal heartbreak and all the rest. I did have heterosexual relationships, but at the same time I always knew I was not 100% straight and I was very comfortable with that.”

Growing up, Dirk had a few girlfriends and understands that, because of this, the outside world wouldn’t have considered him as gay. “I always knew myself very well and knew there was something inside that I was really okay with. I had gay experiences as a teenager and again that was very normal to me.”

In his late teens, Dirk moved to Osnabruck for university and that period in his life developed into him telling those closest to him that he was gay. “That was the period when I realised that my interest in women was rapidly declining. I had what I would call my first proper relationships with men. At that point, I came out to my university friends and family very quickly.” While some were surprised, everyone was extremely supportive and Dirk said that nobody ever treated him any differently than before. “I would say as a queer person you are always coming out.”

“I can be stereotyped based on the fact that I’m a man, or a gay man or that I’m in my mid-forties.”

After university, he moved to the UK despite thinking he would move for sunshine and a hotter climate, it was actually love that propelled the move. “I had always wanted to go abroad and live in an English speaking country, I always thought I’d end up in Australia or California. I was in a relationship with an Englishman, so that’s how I came over.” Now with over sixteen years in the country and over half a decade at Vertex, he wants to talk openly about stereotypes and how we can work to counter these. He is co-chair of the Pride network and eager that we can all be open and constantly learning.

“Stereotyping can result from unconscious bias, both negative and positively. They are a fact of life. As a German man I, of course, get stereotyped based on that one aspect of my life, likewise, I can be stereotyped based on the fact that I’m a man, or a gay man or that I’m in my mid-forties. While we all do it, the way to tackle it is to be aware that we do it and make assumptions based on bits of information they give us about their life.”

Dirk has found that many people find it hard to be open about who they are, facing stereotypes in the workplace. He asks to simply look inwards. “I would say it is really important to recognise what you think and actually challenge yourself when you hear those thoughts. A fact like where someone grew up might trigger a thought in your head, but it doesn’t actually tell you about a person’s experiences, personality nor how their history has shaped their life. We all need to remind ourselves to never judge a book by its cover and to be eager to learn about people from them, not judging on the surface from a handful of descriptive facts.”

“We all need to remind ourselves to never judge a book by its cover.”

For Dirk, who is co-leading the international Pride network, he is bolstered by the time that his colleagues give up to help educate their co-workers as well as how supportive Vertex Pharmaceuticals is of all of the employee resource networks there. “LGBTQ+ rights are basic human rights. They need to continue to be protected and enhanced and promoted. Education and awareness are key, and I mean that both should be ongoing, not a one-off seminar or event.” The company is growing strongly, and Dirk is continuing to help it embed ID&E aspects into the culture and ways of working.

“It’s so important because speaking broadly about Europe, we have come a really long way in terms of LGBTQ+ rights. I thank the generation ahead of us who did so much to give us the rights that we are enjoying now. At the same time, it shouldn’t mean that we sit and rest and take them for granted. We can all see that these rights can be taken away and there are anti- LGBTQ+ agendas that are growing in many places. Let’s protect what we have and continue to stay our course and make sure our human rights are as protected as they should be.”

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about job opportunities at Vertex Pharmaceuticals