Your Workplace is Gender Diverse but is it Inclusive?

Evaluating the way your organization supports its identity-diverse employees is essential to creating a more inclusive workplace. 

Especially within the last decade, strides have been made toward equality of the LGBTQ+ community, but there is still a significant amount of room for improvement when it comes to building more inclusive workplace cultures.

In what many consider to be the most socially progressive countries around the world, only around 40% of LGBTQ+ employees report that they’re fully open about their gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation at work. More than half of employees believe that the way they identify has slowed their progress at work.

These statistics indicate that there’s still a level of discomfort among employees to be their authentic selves at work. Workplace cultures that aren’t truly inclusive, and leaders who fail to empower their employees, contribute to this.

Here are 3 ways your company can provide better support for your LGBTQ+ staff:

1. Build your education. Do your research and set a company standard of understanding the existence of multiple genders, how they differ from one another and how gender diversity contributes to your team’s performance.
2. Use gender-neutral language and offer gender-neutral restrooms. Company documents can be filled with gender-biased words that reflect your own unconscious biases. One-fourth of transgender employees say they are forced to use restrooms which do not match their gender identity, making them feel alienated at work.
3. Enforce gender harassment and diversity policies. Protect your existing LGBTQ+ employees by setting clear consequences for discrimination. Make a conscious effort to safeguard the LGBTQ+ community’s rights.

By laying a solid foundation of inclusion within your organization, you’ll be better prepared to support current and future gender-diverse employees.