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?

Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace: Mental health as a key topic in your D&I strategy

Mental health, especially in the workplace, is often overlooked and stigmatized. Most people will experience a mental illness or mental health issues in their working lives. In the wake of the pandemic, the sudden transition into remote and subsequent readily changing work situations have drastically affected mental wellbeing of people across organisations. It is important for employers to recognize this and understand that the mental health of their employees and of themselves is as important as their physical well being. Work stress and pressure can often aggravate and cause depression, anxiety and other mental health issues in employees. Further, people of colour, racial or ethnic minorities, women and the LGBTQIA+ community can face lack of representation, microaggressions, unconscious bias, and other stressors that negatively impact their mental health. With a majority of our lives spent at work, it is important for workplaces to focus on mental health as a part of their DEI strategy.

In this session of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace, we will discuss how to destigmatize mental health in the workplace and promote open communication.

• What systems and resources must be put in place to support employees with their mental health?
• How to raise awareness of mental wellness and break stereotypes regarding mental illness?
• How to prevent employees from feeling overwhelmed at work due to the pressures and stress that they may be facing?