Why is asexuality important to talk about?
Asexuality is a sexual orientation that describes people who experience little to no sexual attraction and/or sexual desire. According to the Rainbow Britain report, 2% of the UK population identify as asexual with 5% of Gen Z identifying under this label.
Asexual people are an invisible group of people: they are the least likely to be out than any other sexual orientation in the workplace, education, healthcare and in their personal life, and have very little good media representation. The issues that asexual people face is also invisible: they experience discrimination in the workplace, healthcare and education, yet are not included within the Equality Act 2010.
Sarah is passionate about raising awareness of asexuality in the workplace and in education and regularly gives talks to help people understand this invisible sexual orientation.
Her engaging talks provides an introduction to asexuality and ways in which people can be inclusive of asexual people in their context, whether this is in the workplace or thinking about how their learning environment could be more inclusive.
As part of her talks, Sarah also shares her own experiences, which includes the overlaps of her identities as a mixed Filipino woman and being asexual.
Testimonials
““It was wonderful to host Sarah as a speaker as an LGBTSTEM Day speaker! She was easy to contact and liaise with, flexible both on dates and in presenting online or in person. The talk itself was interesting, informative and insightful – especially as many people tuning in knew very little about asexuality or the experience of being asexual – they broke down misconceptions about asexuality with science-themed analogies and provided important statistics. We received loads of great feedback from attendees, and would highly recommend Sarah to anyone looking for a speaker!”
Em Haydon, Wellcome Connections
“Sarah delivered an amazing talk for council staff that covered a whole range of aspects of asexuality in an engaging and helpful way and also tailored the presentation to the audience. I would totally hire her again for a talk on LGBTQ+ topics.”
— Gaby Koenig, Chair of the Women’s staff network at Slough Borough Council
“Sarah contributed to a panel event introducing asexuality to my organisation, where they provided valuable insights and perspectives, including experiences from different parts of the asexuality spectrum and intersectionality with ethnicity. Their flexibility with the event timings allowed the discussion to continue well beyond its scheduled end. That audience engagement persisted through the extended time is testament to how engaging Sarah and the other co-panellists were, as was confirmed by the unanimously positive feedback I received afterwards.”
— Oliver Dyer, Ace & Aro Lead – LGBT+ Network – Environment Agency
“Sarah gave an articulate and insightful presentation, expertly demonstrating the experience of being asexual and highlighting the breadth of identities on the ace spectrum. It was a great introduction and presupposed no particular prior knowledge or experience – just a willingness to be open minded.”
— Darren Smyth, co-chair of IP Out
“Sarah Cosgriff delivered an outstanding plenary at our LGBTQ+ in STEM Day Conference, shedding light on the often-overlooked experiences of asexual individuals in STEM. Their talk was insightful, tackling misconceptions and inequalities while offering practical steps for ace inclusion. Sarah's expertise and thoughtful responses to audience questions were inspiring and informative. 5/5 stars – a truly impactful speaker!”
— Dave Lawson, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences EDI Champion, Bristol University
“Sarah delivered a fantastic and informative talk on asexuality, adapting to the audience that was presented to them and tailoring the presentation perfectly. She gave insightful facts balanced with positive thought-provoking opinions, which all culminated into overwhelmingly positive feedback from the audience. Sarah was also faced with difficult questions which she handled professionally and adequately, giving in-depth responses. I would like to personally thank Sarah for their willingness to talk and for raising awareness of asexuality in the workplace..”
— Shyam Patel, Core Member of PT&D Pride at AstraZeneca
“Sarah was an exceptional speaker at our LGBTQ+ in STEM symposium! The talk was informative and impactful, and we received lots of positive feedback from the audience. Thank you, Sarah, for provoking important conversations and raising awareness of asexuality in STEM and beyond.”
— Lucy Ahern, LGBTQ+ Network Lead, Francis Crick Institute