Lisa Charlwood-Green interviewed by Nat Palethorpe

Interview with Lisa Charlwood-Green recorded by Nat Palethorpe. Duration: 1 hour 22 minutes 18 seconds. [Start of interview] Lisa Charlwood-Green discusses growing up, memories of AIDS and the negative impact of Section 28, alongside education, confidence and developing an organised approach to work. [00:03:30] She joined Network Rail [NR] aged 28, first as a temp worker and then in the Infrastructure Projects team, working on the Forth Bridge project, bridge renewals and on-track renewals. She discusses being out at work, feeling that being queer was treated negatively at NR compared with a previous education role, and trying to find other queer colleagues in a large office where no one else was out. She recalls Human Resources offering counselling, and joining the new national EDI [Equity, Diversity, Inclusion] LGBTQIA+ steering group in 2014, through which she found queer colleagues and a “railway family”. [00:09:00] Lisa describes the railway workplace as dominated by straight white men, with women concentrated in administration and Human Resources. She discusses challenging colleagues behaviour, microaggressions, selective application of parental leave policy, intrusive questions about family life, and the pressure on women and queer people to manage anger or frustration carefully. [00:19:00] She moved into the Safety Team as a Project Management Assistant, then worked for a university and a qualification agency as a change practitioner. At the qualification agency she chaired the LGBTQIA+ society, having previously been Deputy Chair of Archway at NR, and describes a more positive environment for LGBTQIA+ people. She later returned to NR as a Project Manager, saving £3 million in six weeks, working on seasonal projects such as leaf removal, then managing a programme for strike contingency in Scotland. [00:28:20] Lisa discusses being asked to apply for a secondment as Head of Organisation, Development and Culture in Scotland, then moving to North-West and Central in the same role as maternity cover, reflecting on workplace culture, psychological safety and change-focused roles. [00:31:40] She describes her work with Archway, beginning on the steering group in a male-dominated network, and argues that corporate queer activity needs clear purpose because it uses public money. She recalls internal hostile homophobic comments about the network and London Pride, and Chief Executive Mark Carne attending Archway’s first London Pride in 2018, after which his public comments against bigoted behaviour helped shift workplace rhetoric. She discusses continuing limitations faced by NR in diversity and inclusion despite high inclusion scores in staff surveys. [00:39:00] Lisa reflects on running staff networks well, including avoiding concentrated power, creating safe spaces for community, not over-focusing on allies, supporting queer colleagues through mentoring, and ensuring leadership changes over time. [00:46:00] She describes mentoring as a major source of energy, encouraging people to consider what work energises or drains them, and valuing the friendships and development that come from mentoring relationships. [00:56:50] Lisa reflects on what she would tell her younger self, therapy, confidence, activism and charity work, including an LGBT+ History Month photo exhibition launched at the Scottish Parliament, and advises being open to opportunities. [01:05:00] She says she does not regret working for NR, seeing difficult experiences as opportunities for growth, and reflects on resilience, processing difficult feelings, travel, family time, new work opportunities and continued connection with her railway family. [01:17:20] She concludes that a mentor need not be a more successful version of oneself, but someone admired for particular qualities, and asks, “what better legacy than helping others?” [end of interview]

This interview was made as part of People Pride and Progress (PPP) project. The project was initiated in 2023 to record the stories and memories of the LGBTQIA+ community in a new oral history archive over two years. It aimed to connect past, present and future through intergenerational interviews, offering opportunities for colleagues across all parts of the rail industry to connect, reflect on and learn from each other’s lived experiences while creating an archive of oral history interviews.