What happens when employment law is not inclusive?

Welcome to Lead With Inclusion! This weekly newsletter is a resource for EVERY professional. Whether you’re a manager ready to be a more inclusive leader, or an employee ready to be a DEI champion in your workplace, inclusive actions lead to inclusive outcomes. Leading with inclusion simply means starting with inclusive actions in everything you do. It means identifying the areas where bias is at work, and shifting mindsets to make change.?

If you’re not sure where to begin, start here.

Just because the law states a bare minimum requirement for human decency, there is nothing stopping us from going above and beyond.

Yet LGBTQ employees continue to face workplace discrimination around the world. Even with the vast number of anti-discrimination laws on the books in the United States, many employers feel that as long as they adhere to employment law, they are already doing the “right thing”.

But since the law isn’t always on everyone’s side, this exposes a major gap between best practices and reality. What happens when employment law is not comprehensively inclusive? Do you choose to care? Can you make things better?

The truth is: the law isn’t enough. The good news is: you do care, and you can raise the bar.

Lead with Inclusion

In 2019 in the US, 23% of LGBTQ2+ employees experienced discrimination, with discrimination against transgender employees trending even higher (31%).

Despite evolving social awareness, this appears to be par for the course worldwide. In the European Union, 19% of LGBTQ2+ men and 21% of LGBTQ2+ women experienced discrimination at work, with transgender employees specifically reporting abuses in much higher proportion (36%). In Canada, LGBTQ2+ workers were twice as likely as straight employees to have experienced inappropriate behaviors at work.

And while we’re talking stats , only about half of US LGBT workers have come out to their supervisors, while a quarter don’t even feel safe coming out to their coworkers.

Unfortunately, the law often reinforces these injustices. In the first half of 2023 alone , U.S. state legislatures introduced over 520 anti-LGBTQ2+ bills, more than 220 of which targeted transgender and non-binary individuals, resulting in 70 of these bills becoming law.

So, if we’re looking to the law to fully protect all employees, we’re looking to a false idol.

Be an Inclusive Leader

When statistics show that LGBTQ employees are twice as likely to tell a coworker than their supervisor that they are queer, you have to ask yourself: “How am I being perceived as a leader?”

And if they are only semi-comfortable revealing themselves to their colleagues that is still a sign of failing leadership.

The culture of the company is your responsibility. At the CalHR conference a few weeks ago, we were challenged to use our influence to lead. Here are some specific ideas to help you improve queer inclusion at the office:

1. Are your policies equal, but not equitable? When you stick to the traditional binaries of gender (providing male and female bathrooms, for instance), you encourage the status quo. Set new standards even when the letter of the law does not require it, and change up policies that no longer represent an inclusive culture.
2. Support your colleagues, and question yourself. Rather than being the worker who complains a transgender employee is seeking a gender-neutral bathroom, ask yourself why this issue matters to you. You may be surprised by what you find if you mine your own biases.
3. In general, are you encouraging fear, or freedom? There are always opportunities to ask yourself if you are setting your company’s tone for inclusion. Do you often make your colleagues fearful of sharing their personal lives? What might you be saying or implementing that reflects a reluctance to accept others as they are?

As leaders, the responsibility doesn't end with compliance—it begins there. True leadership means creating an environment where all employees, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, feel genuinely valued and equally supported.

With these keys in mind, you can align your best practices with sturdier standards for acceptance than the law could ever provide.

About Stacey Gordon:

Stacey Gordon is a Bias Disrupter and an unapologetic evangelist for inclusion. As the Founder of Rework Work , she anchors action using change management principles while facilitating mindset shifts. She is a global keynote speaker, Top Voice on LinkedIn, and a popular LinkedIn Learning [IN]structor with nearly two million unique learners enjoying her courses.

Want to work with Stacey live? Consider booking her for your next keynote, leadership development meeting, or consulting engagement.