IDAHOBIT - Be an Active Ally

Today is International Day of Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and we're marking this day by asking our colleagues to be 'Active Allies.'

There is still a way to go with improving life at work for LGBTQ+ colleagues.?In the UK, according to Stonewall, more than a third of LGBT staff (35%)?have hidden that they are LGBT at work for fear of discrimination.?

To create inclusive, welcoming, and healthy workplaces, we must actively combat microaggressions. Doing so requires understanding of how they show up and how to respond productively to them, whether they happen to us or to colleagues.

Inclusive work environments are not just nice to have — they?positively contribute to employee well-being?and mental and physical health.

Recognising microaggressions

An all-too-common microaggression is assuming someone’s?gender pronouns, not asking about which pronouns they use, and continuing to use the wrong pronouns even after the correct ones have been shared.

Another is the denial of homophobia and transphobia, with comments like, “Being gay is no big deal,” or “You can come out as trans and it’s safe.” And for a lot of people, they?don’t?feel safe, and they?have?experienced homophobia. These comments can feel like their experience is being negated or dismissed.

So many microaggressions can be unconscious and come from a well-meaning place but are still harmful.

Ultimately, getting better at noticing and responding to microaggressions — and being more aware of our everyday speech — is a journey, one with a real effect on our mental health and well-being at work. Microaggressions affect everyone, so creating more inclusive and culturally competent workplace cultures means each of us must explore our own biases to become aware of them.

Creating inclusive cultures

The goal is not to be fearful of communicating with each other, but instead to embrace the opportunity to be intentional about it. Creating inclusive cultures where people can thrive does not happen overnight. It takes a continuous process of learning, evolving, and growing.

This is a responsibility for all of us at Wates Group to advocate in our places of work on how to help educate and improve policies to create a more culturally inclusive environment. On an individual level, we're encouraging our people to educate themselves about what?microaggressions?exist for different communities.

So we're asking our people to learn how to ask respectful questions; to try not to avoid difficult topics, but rather discover how to engage in them.

To learn more about our efforts to be more inclusive, visit: https://www.wates.co.uk/who-we-are/diversity-and-inclusion/

Jamie Earl is Chair of Wates' BuildOut Together Network. Over the last two years, the network has been ensuring that LGBTQ+ representation is visible within Wates. The network is working to support individuals and allies by influencing company decisions and policy initiatives to support colleagues from the community and improve LGBTQ+ inclusion.

#idahobit #diversity #inclusion #WatesTogether #WatesProud