It is 2019. In the U.S., same-sex marriage is legal, and members of the LGBTQIA community find it relatively easier to be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity. In India, homosexuality was decriminalized last year, and the LGBTQIA community feels a little safer openly declaring its preferences.
But a survey conducted among the U.S. LGBTQIA community in May 2019 found that members of this community experience discrimination at work, and two-thirds of those surveyed revealed that they remain in the closet in the workplace. In India, Inc., fewer than 100 transgender people are gainfully employed.
How can organizations create an inclusive environment that allows their LGBTQIA employees to comfortably be their complete selves?
The comedy TV show Brooklyn Nine-Nine makes a strong statement about discriminatory practices against members of the LGBTQIA community. Captain Raymond Holt is a black gay officer, who finds that his rise through the ranks is challenging, to say the least. While he had the courage to be open about his sexual preference as early as 1987, we find that some individuals even today find it challenging to be open about this in their workplace.
Verizon Media conducted a survey in May 2019, which found that in the U.S., of those surveyed, only one-third of LGBTQIA employees are open about their sexual orientation in the workplaceOpens a new window . And with reason. One person surveyed said that their manager was homophobic and made it difficult for said person to continue working at the restaurant.
In India, companies are making greater efforts to hire from the LGBTQIA community, but employees feel that more needs to be done. For example, most companies don’t have separate bathrooms for transgender employees. And there are fewer than 100 transgender employees hired in corporate IndiaOpens a new window . In an environment where employees find it hard to be themselves fully and are punished if they gather the courage to do so, productivity can drop, and it can affect the overall performance of the employee in question and therefore of the organization. Retaining such talent can then become a challenge.
On the bright side, the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index 2019Opens a new window gives us some positive news. The report found that 527 U.S. businesses across all industries had put in place a diverse hiring and inclusion policy. And in India as well, renowned companies like Infosys and Godrej are taking special initiatives to implement non-discrimination policies in the workplace, offer benefits to partners/spouses of LGBTQIA employees, and build an openly inclusive workplace culture, among other efforts.
If your organization isn’t doing this yet, it’s time to work towards making your culture and policies LGBTQIA-friendly. Â Why? For three reasons:
- Greater inclusion results in a truly diverse workplace and the creation of a social enterpriseOpens a new window , as described by Deloitte.
- Social enterprises are likely to attract more quality talent and improve the employer brand significantly.
- In the U.S., 4.5% of the population identifies as LGBT, and 8.2% from this group is the millennial generation. This is a huge figure that companies will miss out on if they do not engage in diverse hiring practices.
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Learn More: Why Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace is Good for BusinessOpens a new window
Three Effective Ways to Make Your LGBTQIA Employees Feel Comfortable in the Workplace
Diversity has a wider spectrum now – it includes people of varied genders and ethnicities. Such expansive diversity demands new technology for unbiased hiring and an equally comprehensive inclusion program in the workplace. Here are three ways you can make your organization LGBTQIA-friendly.
1. Use the power of data to hire and identify problems in the workplace
We spoke to Rachel Ernst, Vice President of Employee Success at ReflektiveOpens a new window , a people management platform. She shares with us her experience in spearheading the LGBTQIA hiring and inclusion movement at her organization.
“You can’t fix a problem you don’t know exists. Data is the ideal first step for companies to understand gaps in D&I efforts,†asserts Ernst. Using data derived from a people analytics solution can reveal how diverse your employee pool is. If you would like to improve the figures, you can use this data to revamp your diversity and inclusion efforts.
“By evaluating sourcing data, you can pinpoint diversity gaps in your hiring processes or uneven gender/cultural breakdowns. Compensation analysis helps you determine pay equity discrepancies. People analytics can also help identify potential rater, gender and ethnicity biases in performance reviews,†adds Ernst.
Initiating research into this area of hiring and culture in your organization is essential to remain competitive in 2019 and beyond. Diversity in the workforce not only improves business performance, nurturing a happily diverse workforce showcases your organization as an employer of choice.
2. Revamp your company culture to ensure positive inclusion
We haven’t said this enough so we will say it again: an inclusive workplace culture is established by the leaders of the organization. If you aim to increase your diversity hiring to include more LGBTQIA employees, begin first by hiring for cultural fitOpens a new window . Merely diversity hiring practices are not enough. The people who make up an organization define its culture and inclusion practices.
For people who are already part of your organization, here are a few ways you can improve your company culture to be more inclusive.
A. Implement diversity training initiatives: Classroom sessions with a professional talking about diversity may help. But the most effective way would be to put your employees in the thick of the situation by using technology such as virtual reality for diversity trainingOpens a new window . Â
B. Use the power of microlearning programs delivered through mobile devices: Microlearning delivered via mobile-learningOpens a new window can be used for professional development. This methodology can also be used to deliver daily lessons on how to interact with your LGBTQIA colleagues in the workplace, and how you can be more mindful about the way you speak around them. Any Learning & Development (L&D) platform you use can be customized to include a module on diversity training. Ideally, it should be mobile-friendly, so employees can receive information on a device they are comfortable with, and on which the learning is more fluid.
C. Run regular engagement surveys to stay apprised of issues your employees may be facing: Ernst offers an example of the survey metrics they measured to ensure comfort of their employees at Reflektive. “To find areas of improvement in our culture …, we ran a company-wide engagement survey. We measured psychological safety, inclusion and other factors to identify gaps in the employee experience — some of which were within minority groups. With these insights, we addressed any gaps with tailored initiatives to create and maintain a safe and inclusive environment for ALL employees.â€
Anonymous pulse surveysOpens a new window are a great way to keep a check on the pulse of employee sentiment and course correct whenever necessary.
Learn More: 5 Great Apps to Promote Workplace DiversityOpens a new window
3. Create a safe space for your LGBTQIA colleagues to interact
Both online and offline, create a space where your LGBTQIA employees find it safe to talk about their experiences at work. Only when they feel heard will they be able to thrive in the workplace.
At Reflektive, a unique measure was taken to do this, says Ernst. “As a way to ensure inclusion at Reflektive and honor the different experiences of our people, we recently implemented employee resource groups. Our goal was to establish a safe place for employees to come together based on shared characteristics or life experiences. One of our first groups, where we identified the most need, was ‘LGBTQIA.’ Our hope is that as we grow, employees feel confident that there’s always a place for them at the company.â€
Learn More: Why Automation is One of the Keys to Hiring DiversityOpens a new window
A Diverse and Inclusive Workplace Culture Requires a Mindset Shift
It may not always be easy to eliminate bias against LGBTQIA employees in the workplace. It may, however, be less challenging to implement measures that help people become more open. Educating teams about the struggles of LGBTQIA groups is a vital first step.
Sometimes, employees at an organization may think they are open-minded and inclusive, but offhand comments can make a huge difference to how welcome and included the LGBTQIA community feels in the workplace. For instance, calling someone by the pronoun “he/her†when they prefer “their†– even if it is a mistake – can be perceived as a microaggression. Diverse hiring may be a great initiative for organizations, but remember that inclusion is as criticalOpens a new window an aspect of work life.
As HR and top management assess and address the challenge of creating an inclusive culture, it is likely to be met with some amount of resistance. But a zero-tolerance policy towards bias can go a long way in making your organization LGBTQIA-friendly and showcasing it as a socially responsible and responsive enterprise working towards bridging the diversity gap in all its forms.
What inclusion initiatives are you taking in your organization for LGBTQIA employees this Pride Month? Tell us on FacebookOpens a new window , LinkedInOpens a new window , or TwitterOpens a new window and let’s have a chat about your measures and challenges!