Dr Karen Wightman interviewed by Matt Smith

Interview with Dr Karen Wightman recorded by Matt Smith on 17 November 2025, at the National Railway Museum, York. Duration: 1 hour 16 minutes 58 seconds. [Start of interview] Karen Wightman introduces herself as 59 years old, transgender, out for five years and having completed transition six months earlier. She outlines her education and career: cryogenic physics at Nottingham University, graduate training with Rolls-Royce, a Ph.D. at Nottingham, British Gas research sites in Solihull and Loughborough, then rail industry roles with Metro-Cammell, Rail Safety and Standards Board in London, and Siemens PLC in Solihull, where she has worked for nearly twenty years. [00:09:10] Karen discusses becoming self-aware as transgender during COVID-19 after crossdressing throughout adult life, using a private transition pathway, and leading her own workplace transition at Siemens with support from colleagues despite limited HR experience. She recalls a colleague transitioning around thirty years earlier, prior Equality Act 2010, how it was handled and announced by company then, reactions from people, details of her only direct interaction with her trans colleague then. She reflects on when and how she realised herself she was trans. She discusses the poor LGBTQIA+ representation in the 1980s and negative depictions in media such as The Crying Game, Diamonds are Forever and Silence of the Lambs. [00:28:00] Karen describes and reflects on marriage and family relationships, including her wife’s reaction to her coming out. She comments on continuing negative transgender representation, the Supreme Court ruling (April 2025), UKSC 16 Judgement that ruled on the definition of gender in Equality Act and the negative impact of ruling on trans people, the issues and inconsistencies of the ruling. She explains how legislations and laws are built, the role of case law, the remaining issues with Equality Act 2010, the need for new legislation. She notes that transgender people are simply trying to live and highlights the link between attacks on transgender rights and the wider erosion of human rights and women’s rights, including examples of legal cases and laws in the USA. [00:37:20] Karen recalls the fear of being outed for crossdressing before coming out, childhood memories of wanting feminine clothing, and when she started buying and wearing female clothing. She discusses gender, sexuality and a research study showing evidence of correlation between brain activity and acquired gender. She describes fear of being outed while working at Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), hearing negative comments from track workers when referring to LGBTQIA+ people. She reflects on losing male privilege after transition, experiencing misogyny in meetings and everyday life, and noticing women relaxing differently when men leave an office. [00:58:10] Karen gives more detail about her rail career, including work at Metro-Cammell running an electromagnetic compatibility department, projects for the Northern Line, Jubilee line, Stockholm Arlanda Airport and West Coast Pendolino, and her move into engineering management and bid management. She discusses the Midland Mainline bid, details of bidding and outcomes, Stagecoach in litigation, Astom’s reputation with clients, Advanced Passenger Train (APT), Fiat Ferroviaria (also known as Alstom Ferroviaria, Italian division of Alstom), sorting issues with toilets on Pendolino trains. She discusses the consequence of separate companies managing rolling stock and track, Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) Authority insurance issues, and RSSB. [01:12:30] She ends by describing neurodiversity, her role as governance specialist, business-process work, governance responsibilities and being involved in innovative work. She concludes with a message about the importance of treating trans people like people. [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.