Kristen Guy Bio
Name:
Kristen Guy
Location:
Belfast
Biography:
Kristen Guy is a transgender woman who specialises in the development of training solutions for Deloitte in Belfast. Not long after graduating from Queen’s University in 2013, Kristen gained the confidence to become her authentic self and commenced her gender transition while simultaneously commencing her employment with Deloitte.
Kristen quickly made a name for herself in Deloitte due to her specialised skillset in training development but also as she became the lead of GLOBE which is Deloitte’s internal LGBTQ+ network – something unheard of for a junior member of staff. Under Kristen’s command, GLOBE ensured the introduction of ‘Toilet for All’ facilities across Deloitte’s 3 Belfast offices – one on every floor. Kristen opted to use the term ‘Toilet for All’ as opposed to ‘Gender Neutral Toilets’ as she aimed to create an environment where regardless of gender identity, sexuality or disability, everyone is welcome to use these bathroom facilities.
Kristen was also heavily involved in the creation of the business case for Marriage Equality in Northern Ireland. The business case lead to Deloitte UK’s Senior Partner announcing his individual and the firms support for equal marriage at London pride 2018, along with the signing of an open letter in conjunction with other firms in NI.
Kristen feels that Deloitte’s public support for Equal Marriage and the introduction of Toilet for All facilities’ will allow Deloitte to attract more LGBT+ talent – specifically transgender employees – who will see that Deloitte NI is cultivating a work environment of diversity and that everyone is accepted regardless of their gender identity and/ or sexual orientation.
Kristen has partaken in multiple LGBTQ+ themed panel events as a speaker such as ‘Can you bring your whole self to work?’ and ‘Pride in Technology’. At these events, Kristen would speak candidly about her experiences of initially coming out as a gay man in the early stages of her career, followed by her experiences of coming out as a transgender woman. Kristen deems it very important to share her experiences as there are not a lot of transgender women leaders in Consulting and to show that you can be successful in your career while being true to yourself at the same time. She believes her participation in such panels helps achieve positive change for LGBTQ+ people as she is becoming a role model for trans women. Kristen has a strong following on her Instagram page where she has been documenting her transition while progressing with her career. She receives a lot of engagement on her posts from fellow transgender woman reaching out for guidance in their careers.
Kristen has a segment in an upcoming book being released this year entitled ‘300 Women: A collection of fierce women who are proud to represent the LGBTQ+ community’ which she has also used to share her experiences of her transition to provide hope and inspiration for other transgender women.