Lesbian Visibility Week 2026

On Wednesday 22nd April 2026 we were delighted to welcome a brilliant panel of women from the transport sector for a panel event focused on lesbian visibility. Scott Heath from Hitachi Rail introduced the event with some background about the lesbian identity and the history of Lesbian Visibility Week, and then Jo Pennell (Strategic HR Business Partner at Hitachi Rail) expertly guided us through the questions before we opened to auidence Q&A.

The panellists: Ami Roberts (Head of Business Support at Hitachi Rail), Claire Alleguen (Stakeholder Management Specialist at Transport for London), and Sarah Christie (Head of HS2 Reset Integration at the Department for Transport) covered a wide range of topics while referencing the LVW theme for 2026 of 'Health & Wellbeing': the incorrect association of lesbian identity with transphobia and how this may deter people from identifying as lesbian, and the decline of lesbian identity between the 2011 and 2021 census (although Bi- and Pansexual women and nonbinary people have increased). We also heard about the challenges of being a lesbian in an industry that is already predominantly male, thus the proportion of lesbians is very small ensuring there are limited role models to inspire lesbians earlier on in their careers. A more personal reflection was about partners both experiencing the perimonopause or menopause at the same time, and finally we heard about the importance of participation in activities that enable lesbians to meet other people like them. Claire spoke wonderfully about her experiences joining the Pink Singers and then co-founding Brighton & Hove Frontrunners and the power of singing and running with other queer people to help form a social network and to feel belonging.

A massive thank-you to Jo, Ami, Claire, Sarah and Scott for being so generous with their time and sharing their insight and experiences with us.

Watch the video of the panel discussion