WTW exec talks LGBTQ+ parenting obstacles and corporate diversity journey

“You have to be able to speak your truth in a way that is relatable, by being vulnerable. As soon as you show vulnerability, that’s when people want to connect with you.” Thomas Leigh-Eldredge, associate director at WTW, spoke to myGwork about the company’s inclusive culture, his LGBTQ+ identity journey, and the current obstacles of becoming an LGBTQ+ parent.

Undeterred by intimidation, Thomas grew up fully aware of his passions and endeavored to fulfill them regardless of whoever tried to stop him. Discovering a love for dance as a young boy in the 1990s, he attracted a lot of stereotypical jabs. Instead of letting it impact him, he found that he was indifferent towards any form of abuse he received.

“My whole childhood was massively dominated by my love for dance, and I didn’t let my sexuality or the way that I might get perceived hinder me in just enjoying it and being myself,” Thomas recounted. “Yes, there were times in school when the nasty kids called me names, but I don’t remember that sitting with me at all. I was able to shrug it off – I just felt indifference towards it all.”

Introduction to the queer world

Developing a knack for living authentically would later help Thomas in scenarios that still affect the LGBTQ+ community today. But before that, he had a slow but steady introduction to the queer world through his university experience. Growing up, he could count the LGBTQ+ celebrities he knew on one hand. Despite this, he felt entirely comfortable coming out at the age of 15.

Though he felt confident in his identity, even entering a relationship with the man who later became his husband, he didn’t involve himself much with the LGBTQ+ community during his university years. This wasn’t out of disinterest, but rather a lack of awareness that such networks existed. As a result, he found he had very little experience interacting with diverse identities in the working world. However, he soon set out to change that.

Testing the waters

After graduating with a bachelor’s in mathematics, Thomas applied for an actuarial consultant role at global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW. During the interview, Thomas mentioned that he had a husband. He knew that WTW’s reaction would heavily impact whether he wanted to work there. Thankfully, the hiring team didn’t even blink at the reference. Instead, they gave Thomas his first indication towards the inclusive culture at WTW. After some time at the company, he noticed some emails regarding an LGBTQ+ network. Reflecting on his lack of involvement in such societies at university, he decided to look into joining it.

“It was a safe space to meet other people from the community, and there were allies there, but there were no clear objectives,” he said. “There wasn’t a particular journey they were going on. It was only in recent years that the network rebranded with a lot more people behind it, and that’s when the organisation thought ‘How can we support our employees? How can we create meaningful inclusion at work?’”

Making diversity a priority

Proud to be a part of the active change in purpose for the network, Thomas helped shift the focus from informal socialising to actively making a difference to the lives of its colleagues. With dozens of LGBTQ+ themed events each year, particularly around Pride season, WTW continues to make diversity and inclusion a priority. Not only has the network helped progress DE&I standards, but it has also helped change the way Thomas considers his own identity. He feels liberated at rejecting labels and allowing himself to simply feel what he wants to feel.

“I don’t really care what box I sit in. Somebody created those boxes, they are artificial, they are constructed by society. I’m just not interested. I like that I’ve freed myself of those boxes, it’s a nice part of my LGBTQ+ exploration journey.”

Seeking the next stage

With this openness to change, it’s only natural that Thomas is looking at the next stage of life. He’s now seeking methods of parenthood with his husband. The process of talking with surrogates and egg donors has been exciting, but he is acutely aware of the limitations many LGBTQ+ people may experience on the road to becoming parents.

There are many legislative struggles LGBTQ+ parents have to face. Although not directly discriminatory, these laws are outdated and haven’t been updated to include families outside of the heteronormative. For example, there is no legal framework to ensure that the surrogate is not considered the birth mother until after the child is born. That’s even if there is no biological relation. Certain that there is no deliberate bias occurring, Thomas is steadfast in wanting conversations to highlight these challenges to take place in the workplace. He’s hopeful that this will create support for future parents-to-be.

Coming together in the workplace

“It’s all about just having these conversations,” he said. “These aren’t common conversations that take place, certainly not in the workplace because people don’t usually see work as the right forum for that. But the workplace is where we all come together from different demographics, and we can learn about each other and learn about our challenges, so really, it’s the perfect place to help get that dialogue going.”

Thomas knows there is still stigma attached to being an LGBTQ+ parent. He believes that only through the normalisation of diverse families can authentic change occur. With the hope that sparking this conversation will inspire fellow LGBTQ+ employees considering parenthood, he wants to see the community coming together to make progress in the workplace. Visibility will play a key role in this, he explains. By being out and proud at work (providing it is safe to do so), and not being afraid to be open and vulnerable when struggling, we can all push inclusion forward, he says.

“You have to be able to speak your truth in a way that is relatable, by being vulnerable. As soon as you show vulnerability, that’s when people want to connect with you, because they want to support you. That’s our human nature.”

WTW is a is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about jobs at WTW.