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Meet & Greet: Thea Bardot, CEO of Lightning Travel Recruitment

Interviews

Diversity and inclusion Trans equality Trans Awareness Week


In this week’s Meet & Greet interview, myGwork member and Lightning Travel Recruitment’s CEO Thea Bardot shares what they are doing to mark Trans Awareness Week, and what more organizations can be doing to improve trans inclusion and awareness.



 

Hi Thea, can you tell us about your current role/business?

I am the CEO and “Thunder” of Lightning Travel Recruitment, we specialize in consciously connecting humans with businesses in the luxury travel and lifestyle sector.  

 

Can you tell us about your career journey to date?

I spent years managing the hosted buyer programs for well-known luxury travel trade events. It was there that I witnessed the true power of bringing people together. I learned that good relationships lead to great business – and that, ultimately, personal connections are the most valuable asset in any industry. However, I also witnessed an industry with a distinct lack of diversity. Spaces where some people felt unwelcome, and even unsafe. Structures, settings and celebrations that marginalized certain groups, and recruitment practices that prioritised profits over people. All of this from organizations who showed little to no interest in making a positive change. In September 2019 I founded Lightning Travel Recruitment with the goal of creating a new model of recruitment in the travel industry: one founded on long-term, personal relationships with both clients and candidates, with the aim of building an industry that genuinely reflects the wonderful human beings on our planet.

 

Are you involved in any initiatives to mark Trans Awareness Week? If so, can you share some of those with us?

As a non-binary femme identifying individual who uses their platform as a business leader to educate companies around how to be more consciously inclusive of gender diverse individuals I would say that for me, every week is Transgender Awareness Week ;-).   

How will you be marking Trans Awareness Week this year?

By doing what I do best, bringing my authentic self in everything that I do. I will be attending the candlelight vigil being held by the fantastic trans+ charity Not A Phase  for transgender day of remembrance. This is taking place in Soho square at end of the month. I will also be doing various talks at a corporate level this week to educate, inform and inspire.

 

Can you tell us about your personal transition journey, and your recent name change?

My gender identity is a journey that I am still on. Prior to setting up Lightning, I identified as an openly gay man but that was only half of the picture. As my identity evolved and I became more confident in who I was, the need to be authentic in my expression became overwhelming. I often say that I choose my happiness over my safety and that is the stark reality for so many trans people in the current climate. This is part of the reason why I am so open about my experiences now. If by sharing my experiences I can make someone else feel less alone then it is totally worth it.

 

What were some of the challenges that you faced along the way? 

The challenges are ongoing. I spoke on a diversity panel just last week and was deadnamed and misgendered more than once during the session. I try to educate those who want to learn and bring them along despite the pain it causes, but I won’t lie, it takes its toll. I don’t want people to be afraid of getting things wrong, it is a learning process and we need to do this in partnership but that means everyone needs to play their part. 

 

What challenges are people in the trans community still facing, especially at work? 

There are still so many obstacles that gender diverse people have to face at work - from attitudes (how they are treated) all the way through to infrastructure (which facilities they can use). It is incumbent upon the employer to make those team members feel safe and seen. Bringing the wider team along through education is a crucial part of that journey. If trans people represent 0.5 - 1 per cent of the population, businesses over a certain size will have team members who are part of the community, they need to acknowledge this and adapt accordingly. It’s important to recognize that embracing and supporting marginalized team members is an approach which will benefit everyone.

 

What advice can you offer someone considering transitioning? 

Going to quote my friend and fellow trans icon and top LGBTQ+ voice on LinkedIn Max Siegel (they/he). After I shared my awful experience of being deadnamed and misgendered during a recent DEI panel they said ‘You are exactly who you are, you’re Thea, she/they, and you are not less than that just because someone may not quite see it.’ And honestly that hit deep.

 

How important is LGBTQ+, particularly trans inclusion in the workplace to you? 

It is vital. We all need to feel that we are valued and included at work, and it is the role of our employer to ensure each and every one of us can achieve our potential. If we are busy worrying about whether we are being side-lined or worse we are being bullied because of who we are, how can we be productive? A responsible employer will recognize the need to value and develop all team members irrespective of how they identify or who they love.

 

In your opinion, how important are trans allies at work? 

We are a tiny minority, and we face discrimination at every turn. The noise can be absolutely overwhelming. I believe allies are crucial in the fight for acceptance and understanding. 

 

How are you personally promoting trans inclusion in the workplace? 

Trans inclusion is integral to everything we do as an organisation. As an openly non-binary individual, I work tirelessly to educate and empower our clients to do better in all aspects of inclusion. However, with the trans community being so disproportionately targeted right now, this is where we place a lot of our energy. 

 

What more can organizations do to improve trans awareness and inclusion at work? 

Companies need to look at their approach to diversity and inclusion and really interrogate whether they mean it. You cannot bang the drum for inclusivity while excluding a particular group because you’re not sure how it will be received. They need to lead the way, educate their employees around the importance of trans inclusivity, especially now. We are in the midst of a full-on attack on the trans community. Companies are uniquely positioned to provide the counter-narrative, to restore the balance, something which is vital if we are going to move the conversation on. 

 

Are there any podcasts that you are listening to or books that you are reading right now and would recommend to other LGBTQ+ professionals?

The best book career-wise that I've read is The Squiggly Career guide or Radical Candor but also want to give shout outs to F*ck Being Humble, Quiet and LGBTQ+ titles from my friends Benjy Kusi (he/him) - Hope this helps (how to be kinder to yourself + others)    and Natasha Devon (she/her) Babushka / Toxic 

 

What's your all-time favorite movie/show and how many times have you watched it?  

Favorite movie is Miss Congeniality, because it’s iconic. Favourite show(s) are - Survivor (particularly the Australian franchise) because of the social aspects and winning not just being reliant on physical strength. My favourite series is Sense8 because of the queer intersectional storylines, on location shooting (it was one of Netflix's most expensive shows ever) and their amazing use of music to accompany visuals.

 

What's your most favorite holiday destination to date? 

I've been lucky enough to travel a lot of the world and stay at some of Condé Nast's top 10 hotels, in a previous life and whilst I had the privilege of traveling as a cis white gay man who could pass in non-LGBTQ+friendly destinations. Some of the most amazing places and experiences I've had include staying at The Royal Chundu lodge in Zambia on the Zambezi river and doing a helicopter ride over Victoria Falls and through the gorges, I've done the trans-siberian express through Mongolia and into China (and climbed the great wall of China), I've stayed at the Royal Mansour with it's thousands of metres of underground passages meaning you don't see staff appear! And I’ve been lucky enough to visit Tokyo and have a 15-course tasting menu in a traditional Japanese Ryokan! Nowadays though, I'm all about staycations in the UK with Rufus  

 

What do you do to unwind at the end of the day? 

I'd love to give a better answer than this, but the truth is I'll be horizontal on the sofa watching trash TV with Rufus. I cannot explain how much I love being horizontal – the more snacks the better.



Check out some of myGwork's other recent Meet & Greet interviews, including:


 

 

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