Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has always been an important topic for HR and business leaders. Most people are now savvy to the idea that a diversity of thought within the workforce can breed better creativity, increased innovation, enhanced output and, ultimately, a better understanding of the customer. For example, data from Boston Consulting Group revealed that companies with greater diversity among senior teams enjoy revenues that are up to 19% higher than their competitors.

When it comes to LGBTQIA It’s not enough to say LGBTQ+ people are supported at your organisation. You have to proactively take steps to make underrepresented voices heard by creating an inclusive and safe environment.  

With research pointing towards the benefits – and employees increasingly wanting to work for not just diverse but also inclusive organisations – employers and HR should consider how they can get better in this area.

Whether for Pride month, for your ongoing personal journey of inclusivity, or for the start of a learning process, this article explores some ways of engaging professionally and personally with more LGBTQ+ communities and adopting truly inclusive workplaces.

Why is Inclusion so important in LGBTQ+ Pride month and beyond

 

Being able to thrive in an inclusive organisation that celebrates individuality is something that today’s candidate-led market (whether internal or external) is increasingly on the look-out for. And rightly so. Deloitte stats – cited by Built In – found that 80% of workers said that inclusion efforts were an important factor when choosing a company.

Inclusion needs to be without exception.  Once you have inclusion, diversity will be attracted. Vernā Meyers, sums this notion up too. She says: “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance” (source: The Muse).

 

So whilst Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning + Pride Month (LGBTQ+ Pride Month) is celebrated annually in June [to honour the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+)], please don’t just support LGBTQ+ once a year – it is important to show real support year round, and uplift the voices for your LGBTQ+ employees, and put money/effort behind diversifying and educating your company.  It’s a great idea to celebrate Pride Month with various activities, donations, and educational presentations, but don’t let that celebration end once the month does.  Seek to add value rather than jump on the @trendy@ pride support bandwagon.

 

Make a start – don’t stay silent

When I ask what a lot of my clients are doing to support Pride month, many say they are totally onboard but feel like they are ‘too late and aim to plan for next year instead’, or they ‘are worried to be seen to be rainbow washing’ or coming across insincere.  Don’t over think it – if you want to make changes don’t hold back thinking everything has to be perfect straight away.  Silence has been the biggest challenge for years. Even if we don’t get it right first time, let’s fail forward and learn. Please don’t go back to staying silent.

You don’t need a full plan in order to do your bit in making the world a more inclusive place.

Encourage employee experience sharing

Give people a platform to share their stories. Give people a voice who may not have felt comfortable speaking out in the past.

Encouraging employees to share their own experiences carves out a curiosity for people to learn more about each other. This in turn can promote a culture of inclusion that values unique contributions and experiences and encourages people to bring their whole selves to work. It’s all about allyship. NHS England defines allyship as “building relationships of trust, consistency and accountability with marginalised individuals and/or groups of people.” Allyship is based around support, but it’s also all about being visible and vocal.

Get employee’s input during the planning process

Before you dive into planning your corporate Pride initiatives, If your company size permits, put together a committee of employee volunteers to serve as a sounding board and to provide input as your plans begin to take shape.

This will not only demonstrate your commitment to listening to and implementing employee feedback, and help facilitate a sense of support and community within your company, it will also help prevent you from making mistakes that may ultimately alienate and frustrate members of the LGBTQ+ community.

 

Be Openminded to learning

We should all take pride in learning more about people and lifestyles that we’re not familiar with and the onus is on advocating for self-education. Diverse communities, employees and leadership teams bring more to the table through not just experiential differences but cognitive diversity. In the words of Matthew Syed, writer of Rebel Ideas: “In times of unprecedented change, we must learn to think differently. Great minds think unalike.”  If you are humbled by something you learn – share it. the more honest, open dialog, the better, more authetic an employer you will be!

 

Lead by refraining from judging others

We construct images of other people based on rather superficial cues: accent, voice and language, colour, race, nationality, physical features, education, place of residence, and so on. The problem is our perceptions are always incomplete, often inaccurate, and sometimes dead wrong. Our limited perceptions result in biases, and they in turn can lead to alienation, divisions between groups, and tension in companies.

Challenging our tendency to judge leads to more satisfying relationships and greater happiness, and this can only happen if we address both thinking and behaviour.  When we recognise that our judgments and stories are limited, we open ourselves up to different perspectives. Refraining from judging allows us to be more inclusive of others and their viewpoints.

Michael Galuser provides some strong examples of how we might think, speak, and act to reduce our tendency to judge others at work:

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

• My perceptions of others are not always accurate.
• Everyone in this organisation can contribute something of value.
• We are all more alike than we are different.

POSITIVE SPEECH

• “I need to get to know him better.”
• “I need to understand why she is doing this.”
• “He has a lot of good qualities we should support.”

POSITIVE ACTIONS

• Go to lunch with someone you may not like.
• Have a conversation about your backgrounds.
• Talk through issues that are impacting your work.

 

Pronouns Matter

Mistaking or assuming peoples’ pronouns without asking first, mistakes their gender and sends a harmful message. Using someone’s correct gender pronouns is one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their identity.   Ways organisations can encourage understanding of pronouns include updating your joiner forms to ensure people can represent themselves how they wish to; edit your email signatures and virtual meeting sign in to include your pronouns and be an ally to amplify the voices and pro-noun respect needs across your own company.

 

Review internal policies

Before you look to publicly promote inclusivity and your support of the LGBTQ+ community, it’s important to take a look at your internal policies. If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend implementing the following:

• Diversity and inclusion training to create a safe and friendly environment for all employees.
• A clear mission that emphasises fair treatment and open support of the LGBTQ+ community as well as other potentially marginalised groups and individuals.
• Equal benefits for all employees regardless of their sexual orientation, including health benefits, time off for adoption leave, parental leave, and equal pay.
• An anti-discrimination policy might be updated to includes specific language around LGBTQ+ discrimination, with clear and enforceable consequences for those who don’t comply.
• Launch a transition guide for employees that are going through gender reassignment, including helpful tips on how to seek HR support, how to access health benefits, etc.

You can also look at the Human Rights Campaign yearly Corporate Equality Index for more ideas on how to make your company more inclusive. They’ve created a national benchmarking tool that covers corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community.

 

DEI training needs to emphasise new attitudes and behaviours at work

Offering supportive and inteactive training in DEI is important in all workplaces.  However, unfortunately the millions of hours and billions of dollars spent on DEI training have not produced overwhelming results. A growing number of critics and anecdotal evidence suggest that:

• DEI training often categorises people based on immutable characteristics rather than emphasising new attitudes and behaviours at work.
• The tools, resources, and mentoring needed to produce lasting change are often lacking following DEI training programs.
• The results of DEI training are often short lived since attitudes, behaviours, and corporate cultures are difficult to change.

Part of the reason I feel DEI training falls short is that Executives don’t stand up after to champion and lead the allyship of discussion afterwards that help empahise the importance of new attitudes and behaviours at work.  Lead the change you want to see by taking time to reinforce why it matters in your org, facilitate dialog and act in a way that role models.

 

To conclude, there is much we can all do to improve and support LGBTQIA communities in and around our businesses.  But remember, pride month and London Pride Parade on 2nd July is not about your business.  It is about adding value to the conversation, ensuring you create safe spaces and offering true allyship to all your diverse and wonderful community.  Enabling employees to bring their whole selves to work and encouraging and empowering individuality is key. The CIPD posited that inclusion at work occurs “when people feel valued and accepted in their team and in the wider organisation, without having to conform.” And further that “inclusive organisations support employees, regardless of their background or circumstance, to thrive at work.”

 

 

 

 

Hannah Powell