09 Jun Celebrate Pride Month this June

“During LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we recognize the resilience and determination of the many individuals who are fighting to live freely and authentically,” President Joseph R. Biden said in a proclamation released from the White House on June 1, announcing June Pride Month. “In doing so, they are opening hearts and minds, and laying the foundation for a more just and equitable America. This Pride Month, we affirm our obligation to uphold the dignity of all people, and dedicate ourselves to protecting the most vulnerable among us.”

WHAT DOES LGBT INCLUSION MEAN FOR BUSINESSES?

A best practice for companies who have a clearly articulated diversity and inclusion statement is to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the language. And, of course, it’s a best practice to have a clearly articulated diversity and inclusion statement, as well as a strategy that begins with a company’s leadership.

“Business leaders need to be proactive in creating a positive climate for their employees, inclusive of differences in sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Elmer Dixon, President of Executive Diversity Services. “Creating an environment where employees feel they are included and can fully contribute positively impacts employee satisfaction and encourages innovation in the workplace,” he adds. “Promoting inclusivity isn’t just a social or legal concern for companies, it’s a smart business decision.”

TIPS FOR CREATING AN LGBTQ INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

Many of the tips for creating an inclusive workplace that apply to other groups, such as race, ethnicity and religion also apply to inclusion for sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, such as:

• Include language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in non-discrimination policy statements;
• Provide top-down training on issues regarding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender non-conformity in the workplace;
• Include training on the company’s non-discrimination policy in new hire orientation;
• Support LGBT employee resource and networking groups;
• Demonstrate a public commitment in terms of community outreach or foundation giving

Other considerations may also include:

• Ensure that equitable and privileges are granted to all employees, such as spousal health benefits and transgender health care coverage
• Provide gender neutral bathrooms

A NOTE ON LANGUAGE

IS IT LGBT OR LGTQIA OR…

LGBTQIA ncludes Lesbian; Gay, Bisexual; Transgender; Queer (or questioning); Intersex; Asexual (or Ally); Sometimes a P is added for Pansexual/Polysexual. The extension of letters is driven by the community, and continues to evolve to cover people of all genders and sexual minorities: People whose sex is neither male nor female, whose gender is neither male nor female and whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual.

BEYOND THE BINARY

The language has evolved along with the evolving conversation about a broader gender spectrum, sometimes referred to as “beyond the binary,” meaning the traditional paradigm of two gender options, male and female.

CISGENDER/TRANSGENDER

Another term more in popular use now is cisgender–denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex. This is opposed to transgender–denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. It is a way for language to be power neutral—e.g. it’s not the norm and everything else, but simply different self-identities: cisgender, transgender pangender, etc. (Click here for additional tips for allies of transgender people.)

PRONOUNS

Understanding pronoun use is important because feeling uncomfortable or self-conscious about what to say is where bias, unconscious or blatant, can creep in. Someone’s preferred gender pronoun is not about you. It is about them. Read more in this article by Dr. Margo Jacquot from the National Diversity Council: He, She, They, Us. The Pronoun Lesson You Didn’t Learn in School.

Need help setting up the LGBT inclusion best practices at your company? Contact us to get your strategy and program rolling.

Parts of this article originally appeared in an earlier post. Read that full post here: https://www.executivediversity.com/2017/06/22/pride-month-lgbt-inclusion-work/