The top LGBTQIA+ conversations we should be having at work
As Sydney WorldPride and its associated Human Rights Conference take place, the global spotlight is focused squarely on the LGBTQIA+ community.?
Amid the parties and celebration of queer culture, there are serious conversations being had about diversity and inclusion — particularly in the workplace.?
According to the Australian Workplace Equality Index, a survey of Australian workplaces compiled by NFP Pride in Diversity, only 34.14% of those who identified as women felt comfortable to be out at work, compared with men (52.85%) and gender diverse people (41.18%) — and these figures are dropping year on year.?
So how can workplaces be more inclusive to LGBTQIA+ workers and job seekers? How can emerging leaders thrive, how can mental health be supported, and how can stigma and homophobia be countered with respect and understanding? We asked several thought leaders within the LGBTQIA+ space to weigh in on these important issues, and to help spark conversations on LinkedIn to create real and lasting change.
What are your thoughts on the issues that the LGBTQIA+ community and allies should be discussing right now? Share your perspective with your network by reading the article, commenting or reposting using the hashtag #WorldPride and #LinkedInTopVoices.
Authenticity may be somewhat of a workplace buzzword, but it’s with good reason. Feeling comfortable to be open about your sexuality or gender identity is key for LGBTQIA+ people to be happy at work, says trans awareness educator, consultant and advocate Katherine Wolfgramme FRSA.
“Being your authentic self in the workplace for any gender means being comfortable among your colleagues without fear of judgement or alienation, and being appreciated for the job title you have without any worries of it being affected by your gender,” she says.
“A big issue is objectification. I am not transgender first, that is merely a part of what makes me who I am. First and foremost I am human. Even though seeing more transgender people in the office is very new, one must also consider it is far more daunting for transgender people coming into the workplace.”
Wolfgramme, who is also a WorldPride Rainbow Champion and posts about trans awareness, queer history and the power of art to educate about diversity, hopes that the more LGBTQIA+ staff are open about their identity, the more opportunities for career growth will emerge.
“I think when looking at the resumes of transgender people one should consider what they have accomplished in five years compared with someone else the same age and you may just have found an asset to your company that you may have missed,” she says.
Being authentic shouldn’t mean subscribing to stereotypes, says Gemma Saunders ?? GAICD, Founder and Chief Workplace Editor of Workplace Edit, a firm that helps companies become more inclusive of its diverse staff.?
“I want to challenge the idea that authentic means ‘out’ or ‘loud’ because the quiet, evolving, still-figuring-it-all-out queers are still authentic if that's the season they are navigating. Don't buy into one-size-fits-all authenticity mantras. Authentic isn't binary,” she says.
As an openly queer executive, Saunders posts about inclusive hiring practices, gender equality in the workplace and identity at work and says using your pronouns is a key way to present your most authentic self. However, not everyone will be comfortable to do so — and that’s OK.?
“It can feel like a risk or the most natural thing in the world and any feeling you have about this is valid because our history as a community in the workplace is complex, she says. “Add pronouns and any important identities into your CV and you can always go first at the interview and say, ‘Hi, I'm Gems and I use she/her pronouns. It's nice to meet you’.”
When LGBTQIA+ staff feel safe and supported at work, it’s a win-win. Employees who are out to everyone are 50% more likely to innovate than workers who are not and 35% more likely to work highly effectively in their team, according to the Diversity Council Australia Ltd report, Out at Work: From Prejudice to Pride.?
Creating a safe and inclusive workplace where LGBTQIA+ staff can thrive is the responsibility of employers and its leaders, says Martin King ????? , Founder and Director of Pride Pledge ????? — a New Zealand-based social enterprise that works with around 250 companies to boost commitment to LGBTQIA+ diversity inclusion.?
King, who shares his work with corporate clients, says it’s a multi-step process involving an initial pledge, developing diversity and inclusion policies and plans (and enforcing them), training for staff, and actively involving LGBQTIA+ employees in these initiatives through an employee network or similar.
Showing leadership along these lines will result in a thriving workforce and avoid ‘pinkwashing’, where companies’ efforts can appear tokenistic or short lived.
“Being committed to LGBTQIA+ inclusion is a 365-day-a-year responsibility. So, sure you can sponsor a pride event or launch a pride brand, but this must be backed up with deeper and broader commitments to inclusion like training, policies, and clear strategic commitments,” King says.?
He also advises the board and executives to proactively demonstrate the company’s commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion by speaking up as allies at external functions, attending pride events and providing a suitable budget for them, as well as “committing to leading policies which lead an industry such as paid gender affirming leave and gender inclusive uniforms, think Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic,” he says.
King, who posts about LGBTQIA+ leadership, says it is also a “game changer” to have out senior leaders be a visible presence, as they can drive policy changes faster and be available to mentor employees.?
“This shows other LGBTQIA+ staff that breaking the 'rainbow ceiling' is possible. They also can ensure that LGBTQIA+ issues are tabled at a senior level and not left to allies with no lived experience,” he says.?
Feeling unsafe at work, experiencing social exclusion and being unsupported by managers or peers are among the many triggers for poor mental health among the LGBTQIA+ community, says Joe Ball, CEO of Switchboard Victoria, a leading mental health organisation.
“Some of the challenges for employees in the workplace that impact LGBTIQA+ people’s mental health include historical and current discrimination, ‘minority stress’, coming out and coming out again particularly if your identity changes over time (for example coming out as gay and then later as non binary) and a lack of understanding of rainbow families, ie asking a lesbian with kids who is the ‘actual’ mum,” he says.
To help counter these negative effects, Ball suggests more mental health training for staff, LGBTIQA+ mental health resources and services on workplace intranets, and embracing annual awareness days such as International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination (IDAHOBIT) on May 17 and Wear it Purple Day on the last Friday in August.
“The goal is to create an inclusive culture and raise the bar on what is acceptable so as to prevent discrimination before it happens,” he says.
Ball shares insightful content around allyship, equal employment opportunities, mental health services, Indigenous communities and transgender rights. He also focuses on suicide prevention, as self-harm and suicide rates among the community are much higher than the rest of the population, despite increasing resources. Ball says significant social change is needed to counter this.
“What we are doing in suicide prevention is tragically not working. The main drivers of LGBTIQA+ suicide is family rejection, discrimination and isolation from community,” he says.?
领英推荐
“We need to build a world where diversity is respected and celebrated and create a culture where families and communities are proud and not ashamed of their LGBTIQA+ children. This means tackling institutional, cultural and religious bigotry.”
Sport plays a vital role in improving the mental and physical health of Australians, but homophobic attitudes within sports organisations — from grassroots clubs to the elite level — have a detrimental effect on staff and participants.
Research by Out on the Fields reveals 80% of participants have witnessed or experienced homophobia, and only 28.8% of those who played sports have disclosed their gender or sexual identity to teammates, according to LaTrobe University’s Writing Themselves in 4 national report.?
But sport can benefit the lives of LGBTQIA+ people by “changing the narrative, by challenging the status quo, by listening and learning and expecting more,” says Christine Granger, CEO of Proud 2 Play.?
Granger works with all levels of the sporting community and collaborates with other community organisations to encourage engagement and participation and says organisations and clubs need to “stop seeing inclusion and diversity as an add-on but as part of core business to create long term meaningful change”. This means investing in dedicated staff, creating LGBTQIA+ inclusive policies, increased education about discriminatory language and moving from “passive inclusion to active inclusion”.
Granger, who also shares updates about community activations and research reports, says there is no simple, fast way to tackle homophobia, transphobia and biphobia in sport, but rather a slow burn to change cultural attitudes. However, it should be a top-down approach.
“There needs to be support from senior leadership, and this senior leadership need to be willing to speak out and challenge discrimination,” she says.
The introduction of Pride rounds in elite levels of the AFL, AFLW and A-League as well as the Australian Open’s Pride Day and ‘Glam Slam’ facilitated by Pride Cup, are raising awareness among participants and fans alike.
“In sports such as AFLW we can see that they are more embraced but the context and culture that exists within many women’s team sports is and has historically been one of greater acceptance towards sexual identity,” Granger says.
However, they can also backfire if not delivered with proper consultation and training, such as the backlash and boycott from NBL and Manly Sea Eagles players. “It can also break a young person's or even an adult’s heart to find out that their idol does not see them as equal or deserving to have a place in this world,” she says.
The creation of the World Gay Boxing Championships, held during this year’s WorldPride, was inspired by a desire to offer a safe space for LGBTQIA+ boxers, says CEO Martin Stark.
“Homophobia impacts our ability to participate in sport fully like everybody else, increasing stress and anxiety and negatively impacting our mental health,” he says. “I started World Gay Boxing Championships to disrupt transphobia and homophobia, to increase LGBTQIA+ participation and inclusion in boxing.”
Stark says sport codes can foster a culture of inclusion by communicating, engaging and partnering with communities, but more funding is needed.
“There is limited funding for participatory sport initiatives. I would like to see more funding from federal and state governments with money from elite sports invested in community sport.”
Stark, who posts about bullying in sport, homophobia and courage, has this advice for fans who want to make their sport more welcoming.
“Be an ally, show you care, support your mates, and learn how to identify and report abuse,” he says.
Join us LIVE at 2pm on Thursday March 2 when we chat to Switchboard Victoria CEO Joe Ball, Chief Workplace Editor Gemma Saunders and trans awareness educator Katherine Wolfgramme and feature insights from Olympian and WorldPride Rainbow Champion Ian Thorpe. Register here.
Reported and proofread by: Cathy Anderson
Managing Editor: Capucine Yeomans
Special Projects leads: Natalie MacDonald (APAC) Michele Pierri (International)
Regional Lead: Pooja Chhabria
International Executive Editor: Sandrine Chauvin
About this article
This article features experts from LinkedIn's Top Voices program covering the LGBTQIA+ community. Top Voices is an invitation-only program featuring a global group of experts on LinkedIn covering a range of topics across the professional world, helping members uncover valuable knowledge relevant to them. You can learn more here. You can also revisit our other Top Voice articles for 2022, including Greener Together, Social Impact, Mental Health, First Nations, Job Search and Careers and Gender Equity here.
Who is eligible to be a Top Voice
LinkedIn members who meet high trust standards, are consistently active on the platform and share valuable expertise are eligible to be a Top Voice, with the exception of LinkedIn and Microsoft employees, members who have violated LinkedIn’s User Agreement — including our Professional Community Policies — or individuals currently running in a political election for an executive, legislative or judicial position.
Interested in building your audience on LinkedIn??
New voices emerge all the time — and there’s nothing stopping you from turning your own ideas into powerful conversations. Try creating a post to share your expertise or thoughts on the latest trending news, and you may be surprised at the community you find. If you’re struggling with where to start, follow our LinkedIn for Creators page for content inspiration, tips, news, education and more.
Field service technician
2 年If we want equality then we must stop talking about what your sexual preferences are, and keep that for your bedroom, not the workplace or schools.
Cert 3 G&B linesman Cert 3 Transmission
2 年O please go away men are not women fact so boring
Worked as tour operator for Attain Bhutan tours. Completed master’s degree (M.B.A. Global marketing) from Murdoch university
2 年I don't have time to discuss this. We other (96%) people have other important things to discuss. You 4% of population can discuss with each other and please don't promote as human right because every one got human right.
Susie Studio and Mosaic Mojo Owner
2 年"Reality always vetoes Lysenkoism" -James Lindsay