Gendered Intelligence
905. Catherine McNamara
Dr Catherine McNamara, from London, co-founded ‘Gendered Intelligence’ ten years ago to increase understanding of gender diversity and increase the quality and visibility of trans people’s lives.
Under her Chairmanship, the group runs activities and workshops to support young transgender people, their families and professionals working with them. Dr McNamara led the National Lottery funded ‘Kapow! Knowledge is Power’ project which provides vital resources to young people, including information on mental health, consent, bullying, and local support groups. She also works with 64 educational institutions to deliver staff training and consultations on promoting diversity in schools and universities.
In a personal letter to Catherine, Prime Minister Theresa May said:
“By co-founding and chairing ‘Gendered Intelligence’, you are making a real difference to the lives of young transgender people across the UK. You should be enormously proud of your work empowering and supporting the LGBT+ community.”
Catherine said:
“To be part of something which highlights volunteering, and the many people who give their time and energy to contribute to community life is fantastic. I work with ‘Gendered Intelligence’ to support the important work they do to improve the quality of trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people’s experiences in schools, universities, workplace environments and beyond. I feel proud to be able to contribute to this organisation. To be able to work alongside the large volunteer team, including the other board members, is important to me. It’s my way of demonstrating my support as an ally and a non-trans person. There is still a great deal of hostility experienced by trans people and I’m grateful to be able to contribute to reduce that, and create a more respectful and inclusive society.
May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder so it’s particularly special to be recognised on this day.”