Helping Your Business Be More LGBTQ Friendly

As a business, you may be questioning why you should take the extra steps to ensure you have a diverse workforce. Implementing a culture of inclusion within your company is important for your business to understand diversity and encourages minority groups to feel valued, heard, and respected. Making the conscious effort to include those within the LGBTQ community within your business plans like policies and overall decisions; does not only improve staff morale but helps set an example for wider society.

Although the national statics survey shows more people are open about their sexual orientation (1.6% in 2014 to 2.2% in 2018), employees still do not feel comfortable discussing their sexuality with their employer. Many of those in the LGBTQ community still feel that they are unable to speak about their sexuality/gender for fear it could have negative effects on their employment status. Such as 42% of transgender employees feel unable to open up to their work colleagues, and 1 in 5 (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) employees have experienced verbal bullying from customers or colleagues because of their sexuality.

"You must be the change your wish to see in the world."

Being progressive not only helps those within the community, but studies show that implementing an Inclusive Culture for those in LGBTQ can help your business stats. The 2019 report "Business Success and Growth through LGBT-inclusive culture" found that companies that actively try to be diverse in their workforce attract advanced talent and decrease their staff turnover. Due to the progressive and positive atmosphere that inclusion culture brings it encourages staff to feel valued by the company, making them want to be a part of your companies' community. The report also found stock prices increased by 6.5% (2019) once they incorporated a more LGBTQ-friendly company. 

ComputerWorld has composed some specific LGBTQ policies which can help those within the LGBTQ community feel safer and more welcomed in your business.

1) Hiring Strategies 

Unconscious Bias is a part of the human mental process, it's not necessarily a bad thing if you have procedures in place to prevent it from affecting your hiring process. Unfortunately, biases can stem from any information; like a Toronto study (2020) demonstrated applicants with "foreign" names on CVs were 28% less likely to get a call-back. Go through your hiring procedures, from where you advertise the position to the interview stage, recognise any unconscious biases that could affect any of these stages. If not, here is a cheat sheet on helping your business's hiring strategy.

2) Consider Your Suppliers and Affiliates.

Who your company supplies to, buys from and affiliates with sends a message to both your staff and clients. If you support LGBTQ rights but collaborate with companies with contrasting views, it's sending mixed messages to your stakeholders. Ethical Consumerism is on the rise; people now actively look at supply chains with companies seeing if the companies they invest in completely support their ideologies.

3) Avoid gendered language and dress codes

Gender-neutral dress codes and language can help those in the LGBTQ community feel welcomed and included. During the hiring process, think about the job title and if it is truly gender-neutral, i.e., Salesperson instead of Salesman. Similarly, it's the same as generalising groups by their sex "Our marketing girls have done fantastically". Your dress code, rather than dividing the dress code by men and women, just generalise. i.e, don't say "women can wear knee-length skirts", say "knee-length skirts". Undergoing these minor adjustments will help those trans employees not to be conflicted and ostracised.

4) A clear anti-harassment policy 

Make it clear in your policies that your company won't stand for harassment or abuse towards LGBTQ members of staff. Create modern and realistic harassment-prevention videos, or use the Government Equalities Office free training materials.

5) Check your workplace benefits and policies

This recommendation may overlap with our gender-neutral point, but you must make sure any benefits for married couples are available for civil partnerships. Same for maternity leave, ensure any of your policies go further than just a heterosexual relationship or a cisgender person.