Hearing Bobbi PIckard’s Story and What it Means to Be a True Ally
International Women’s Day 2025 at Yorkshire Building Society
Every year, we celebrate International Women’s Day through events that educate and empower our people here at Yorkshire Building Society. And this year was no exception.
With the UN’s theme ‘For ALL Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment’, our Women’s Network organised some incredible events about understanding intersectionality – and how it’s a vital part of the journey towards a truly inclusive workplace.
The week was full of insightful and moving events. Through them all, we weren’t just learning about how to be better allies, we learnt what it means to be a true ally, the impact it can have, and how that journey starts from within.
“Together, we can be active allies to each other and create an environment where everyone can reach their full potential”.
Annemarie Durbin Chair of the Board
Intersectionality and allyship are massive factors in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Understanding that women with more than one underrepresented characteristic can become more marginalised helps us, as allies, understand the role we play in the progress toward inclusion.
That’s why our Women’s Network organised an inspirational speaker to join us for a panel event this year – Bobbi Pickard, a Diversity Equity & Inclusion professional and recognised global expert in trans and non-binary inclusion in business.
With incredible experience in DE&I alongside a long career in senior operational and programme management, Bobbi has unique insight into implementing effective and pragmatic inclusion solutions. She’s also the CEO and founder of Trans in the City and speaks at events around the world on LGBTQIA + inclusion in business.
Bobbi is a huge force to be reckoned with within the DE&I sector. So we were honoured to have her join us for this panel.
“When I came out, it was quite natural for me just to really come out loudly and just say, ‘Look, this is what it is.’ I said in that first year that I wanted to blow the doors off trans awareness.”
Bobbi Pickard DE&I professional and global expert in trans and non-binary inclusion in business.
Hearing about Bobbi’s struggles and successes, as a transwoman and as a businesswoman, was moving and inspiring. But perhaps the most critical takeaway from the session came in the Q&A portion.
At every single session she goes to, Bobbi gets asked ‘How can I be a better ally?’
The first, simple answer? Don't believe everything you're reading.
The second, no-nonsense answer? Use your initiative, figure out what you can do, and then go and do it.
“Why are you asking women how misogyny needs to be fixed? Why are you asking black people how racism needs to be fixed? Why are you asking trans people how transphobia needs to be fixed? It's the duty, role, job of those people that aren't in the minority groups to figure out what they need to do themselves, because you're the people of power.”
- Bobbi Pickard, DE&I professional and global expert in trans and non-binary inclusion in business.
Speakers like Bobbi can open our eyes to obstacles we may not see, as we don’t face them ourselves. But it’s on us as true allies to stand up and take those barriers down.
That’s why events like International Women’s Day are so important to us.
We see every event like this as opportunities to come together, raise awareness, and unite everyone in Accelerating Action towards an equitable workplace.
And an equitable world.
A huge thanks to Bobbi for sharing her incredible story and insight, and to our Women’s Network for organising a week of inspirational events. They were truly eye-opening, educational, and play a huge part in helping us move forward – and shape an inclusive workplace.
For every woman.
