Gay Woman Leaves Gendered Uniforms & Homophobic Colleagues Behind for a More Welcoming Workplace. [Video]

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Leoni Terblanche enjoyed working on cruise lines except for one significant thing: as a woman, she had to wear skirts – even in the winter – instead of pants, which were her preference. These misogynistic rules would eventually compel her to leave the industry, relocate to the United States and find a more welcoming and accepting environment in tech retail. Following another career change into finance, however, she experienced the opposite – unmistakable homophobia coming from a colleague. Once again faced with a hostile work environment, Leoni realized she wouldn’t be able to truly be comfortable andpassionate about her job if she couldn’t be herself. Without giving it a second thought, she returned back to her “forever home” – tech retail – where she would not only be supported and inspired, but celebrated.

Transcript provided by YouTube:

0:00
[Music]
0:00
foreign
0:06
from Pretoria South Africa ever since I
0:09
remember when I was a child my mom put
0:11
me in dresses until age six where I
0:14
started making my own decisions
0:17
and I just wore pants for me it always
0:20
was important to be comfortable to feel
0:22
comfortable to feel myself fast
0:24
forwarding into into my adult life I ran
0:27
into a situation at work once where I
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really loved what I was doing I loved my
0:33
job I was an assistant maitre d on
0:35
cruise lines and I did it for a very
0:37
long time for six years but there was
0:40
something that held me back where I
0:43
couldn’t be myself
0:45
it was the uniform the uniform really
0:47
bothered me and
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at some point I I did ask the manager if
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uh if we could change our uniforms the
0:57
girls could wear pants we had to wear
0:59
skirts this is 2014 and he said
1:03
absolutely no girls wear skirts I
1:06
realized that the manager would not
1:08
change his mind and it was a hard no
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there was nothing up for discussion and
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I was still stuck wearing my skirt every
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day I did a good job I I did it but I
1:21
still just didn’t feel myself I decided
1:24
to finish another contract I in
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Antarctica and it was really cold and we
1:29
still had to wear skirts after that
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contract I decided to not sign up for
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another contract and I moved to New York
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City I was able to thrive discovering
1:40
this beautiful diverse and inclusive
1:42
culture that we have over here I met
1:46
with my beautiful wife that we married
1:49
that I married I was able to find jobs
1:52
what did did I did I love where I can
1:55
wear what I want I I started working for
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a tech company which really made me feel
2:02
myself and where I belong I was living
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in New York now about two years and I
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decided to get another degree I went
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back to school I studied Finance
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and after working for the tech company
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for a few years I I thought I’m
2:20
transitioning into into the finance
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world I went to work in a bank
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I was really excited I I left my my old
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job I started
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um until one day
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where
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a customer slipped a note under my
2:38
dollar window and at first I was scared
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as you can imagine immediately I didn’t
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know what to do until I turned out
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turned over the note I read the note and
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it said
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he doesn’t like you with a weird face
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smiley face I confronted the customer
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and I asked him if he could explain to
3:01
me what the note means because I was a
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little confused he said uh he said that
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he overheard my colleague
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um
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doesn’t like me because of my sexual
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orientation immediately I wanted to go
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home I didn’t know I just know I didn’t
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want to be there anymore I didn’t want
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to be around my colleagues anymore I
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didn’t want to come back to work I
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didn’t approach my supervisor because I
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didn’t think it’s going to really make a
3:28
difference
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and I didn’t approach my supervisor
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because
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in that way it’s just going to make me
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feel more unwelcome and now I need to
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relive it and explain it to somebody
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else instead I looked for a new job I
3:44
applied every day
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to go back to into the tech world go
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back into where I felt comfortable it
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took me about six months to get back and
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finally I found my forever home again
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where where it is a place where I feel
4:00
welcome where I feel
4:02
included and where I’m surrounded with
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people that care and the people that
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think like me
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and um I’m I’m happy that
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I’m back there and now I’m working with
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colleagues that understand me colleagues
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that
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um inspire me I’m back where I feel
4:22
welcome and included
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and celebrated by all my colleagues and
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we are wearing
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any pants that we want if you don’t feel
4:33
welcome or yourself
4:34
you’re not going to be able to do a
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great job you’re not going to be
4:38
passionate
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and that’s the only way for me to be
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passionate is to feel myself
4:45
peace

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This post was previously published on YouTube.

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