Episode 17 - LGBTQIA+

Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace: LGBTQIA+

June is Pride Month, a month dedicated to uplifting LGBTQIA+ voices, celebrating LGBTQIA+ culture and supporting LGBTQIA+ rights. It commemorates the years of struggle for civil rights and the ongoing pursuit of justice, equity and equality for the LGBTQIA+ community. 

LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive acronym that describes either a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, intersex, asexual/aromantic/agender, pansexual, and allies.

Gender identity describes a person’s internal sense of being female, male, or someone outside of that gender binary, while sexual orientation refers to ‘a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction.’

People from the LGBTQIA+ community face discrimination and hate regularly in their personal lives, workplaces and in public spaces. Furthermore, the intersectionality of traits such as race, ethnicity, religion can influence their experience and lead to discrimination on multiple fronts. In the workplace, they’re subjected to microaggressions like being asked inappropriate questions and hearing homophobic jokes and comments. Conscious and unconscious bias can prevent them from being hired or getting a promotion or opportunity at work. Many LGBTQIA+ individuals feel the need to hide their identity in the workplace for fear of discrimination, which causes high levels of stress, anxiety and other mental health issues among them. 

During this session of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace, we will discuss how workplaces and organisations can create a genuinely inclusive culture for LGBTQIA+ employees. On an individual level, using pronouns in email signatures, on social media profiles, and stating them in meetings, being mindful of using gender neutral language and calling out discriminatory behaviours are some of the ways to be active allies.

For companies, using gender neutral language, diverse visuals on the website and options beyond male and female on the job application can help attract a more diverse workforce, while including anti-discrimination and harassment policies that address sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination can help retain this workforce.

In this session, we will discuss 

• How can we ensure that workplaces have strong inclusive policies and practices in place? 
• How can they attract, successfully recruit and retain LGBTQIA+ talent? 
• How can companies create a safe environment for employees of all sexualities and gender expressions to reveal as much or as little as they want? 
• How can we, as individuals, be active allies to the LGBTQIA+ community?