Let’s try to understand one another better and treat each other with more respect
André Peers de Nieuwburgh is Associate Compliance Officer and a member of the Belgium Rainbow Lions Board. He is working together with ING Belgium HR on the introduction of transitioning guidelines. André is particularly knowledgeable about the topic of gender identity, as he married a trans man a couple of years ago.
“I wasn’t very familiar with the topic of gender identity before I met my husband, David, but I have learned a lot about it thanks to him. He feels good about himself and is very open about sharing his experiences. Personally, I am fortunate enough to be a cisgender male; I was born a man and feel like a man. For transgender individuals this is very different, and that can be incredibly difficult – let alone coming out with it. As a gay man, I know how tough coming out can be; I myself wasn’t open about my sexual orientation in the beginning. Homosexuality is much more accepted nowadays, but for trans people it’s an even bigger step to come out and tell their story, especially at work – and yet it’s so important for everyone to be able to be themselves at the workplace.”
Fostering understanding and acceptance
“It’s understandable that cis people can find it difficult to empathise with transgender people. However, we can still try to create understanding and acceptance. We need to do it to identify and eliminate prejudices, misconceptions and conscious or unconscious discrimination. We can also try to support transgender colleagues more effectively on a practical level, because there is still a lot of work to be done in that respect too. That’s one reason why we’ve made a start and are developing transitioning guidelines at ING Belgium”.
Guidelines for our managers and employees
“The guidelines are aimed at managers who need to know more about what gender transition actually is and how they can offer support. The guidelines are also intended for transgender employees themselves and provide answers to questions about things like whom you can contact within ING, sick leave and insurance arrangements, psychological help that is available through ING and which practical matters you need to take care of, such as related to changing your name.”
A testimonial coming from outside ING
“But we do so much more than that, such as organising information sessions – they are a great way of building understanding and awareness. For a previous International Transgender Day of Visibility, we invited Senne Misplon to come along and share his own story with us. That boosts awareness and acceptance, and so does our sponsor and ally: Hans de Munck, the CFO of ING Belgium. He is a huge supporter of ours and his name also helps to seek attention within the company.”
Safe work environment for everyone
“I hope that the guidelines and all the other activities will help people to understand one another better, accept each other and treat each other with more respect. Transgender people, LGBT+ people and in fact everyone, of course: we should all be able to be ourselves, both at home and at work, and always be assured of a safe environment.”