Diversity may be hot on the agenda of most business leaders today, but if they are to create an inclusive culture, organisations must do more to encourage openness on sexuality in the workplace. According to new research from the Human Rights Campaign, 46 percent of LGBT+ employees in the US hide their sexuality from their colleagues – that’s only a four percent drop from HRC’s 2008 Degrees of Equality report; a study that predates the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the US.
Despite significant strides in equality that the LGBT community has made in the last decade, a staggering one-in-four respondents put their decision down to the possibility of being stereotyped, while more than one-in-three said they were worried about making people feel uncomfortable. Many others even expressed their concern that coming out could threaten their relationships with colleagues.
It’s clear that more needs to be done to ensure all staff feel comfortable enough to be themselves at work. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to encourage this:
1. Update your company policy
It may not seem like much, but updating the company handbook to reflect the new focus in the organisation will help to set the tone for new and existing employees. This is a chance to clearly state the company’s position on equality and human rights and remind all staff of the consequences that will come from discriminatory behaviour in the workplace. In doing so, leaders show to their employees that bullying and harassment are a one-way ticket to being cast out as opposed to sexual orientation. Normalising all sexual preferences while painting homophobic actions or comments as unacceptable is a good start in creating an inclusive environment that celebrates rather than stigmatises differences.
2. Support managers in tackling homophobic behaviour
If you are to achieve behavioural change in your organisation, it must start from the top. That means that all members of management staff must be fully on board with the company’s efforts to promote inclusivity at every level. As well as ensuring regular training on LGBT+ rights is undertaken by all staff, executives must actively support managers by advising them on how to address particular incidents in the right way, as and when they occur. Jokes at the expense of LGBT+ staff should never be taken lightly – in fact, HRC’s report found 53 percent of LGBT+ workers had heard jokes about lesbian or gay people at least once in a while at work, while one-in-five were subject to micro-aggressions such as colleagues implying they should dress more feminine or masculine. These are incidents that should be taken very seriously, and managers should not hesitate in making an example of the aggressor so as to set a staff-wide precedent and make it known that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
3. Create an LGBT employee network
The best employers don’t just talk a big game, they engage directly with their LGBT+ staff to determine how to make their workplaces inclusive of all sexual orientations and which areas need to be improved. Many organisations are even working with their staff to create LGBT+ employee networks in which staff can come together and discuss challenges in a safe environment. While efforts to create a welcoming environment to people of genders and sexual preferences should be company-wide, a specific LGBT group championed by the leadership team will demonstrate to your staff the ongoing commitment the organisation has in improving workplace culture.
4. Monitor the employee experience
There’s no use working towards a goal if you aren’t going to track your progress. In order to encourage openness, leaders must actively keep in touch with their employees to determine how far they have come as an organisation and the steps they still need to take in promoting inclusivity throughout the workplace. If members of the LGBT+ community are to feel comfortable coming out to their colleagues, organisations must not only consider the internal culture but the employer brand and how it is perceived from the outside. This is where employee insight will benefit businesses significantly in determining where they are at and what can be done to improve their image to eager LGBT+ candidates.