Cara Daly & Siobhan Flynn Fogarty
LGBT+ Staff Network in Waterford Institute of Technology
Siobhan Flynn Fogarty and Dr Cara Daly are two of the founding members of the recently established LGBT+ Staff Network in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).
Unfortunately, homophobia and transphobia are still a problem in Irish society however, as learned during the marriage equality campaign in Ireland, LGBT+ visibility and respectful discussion is the key to acceptance. Siobhan and Cara want all LGBT+ students and colleagues to know that WIT welcomes and accepts everyone. “We feel lucky to work in an institution that values diversity and actively works to recognize, understand, and root out biases that could, if left unacknowledged, lead to discrimination”, they explain. “We want LGBT+ students and staff to know they are safe and they are valued. We want this underrepresented group of students and staff to feel comfortable enough to bring their whole selves to work - so that every one of us has the opportunity to fulfil our potential”.
“We know that we have many LGBT+ allies in WIT to help us in our work. Together, we look forward to our continued contribution to a vibrant, diverse, and bias-aware WIT community. We are here, (we are visibly queer) and we are doing our bit to break the bias!”
