February is LGBT+ History Month. And, while you may not think this hugely relevant to your business, you might be surprised. It’s important you learn about ways you can support LGBT + employees.
We would hope that your business is one of the many in the UK that fully embraces a diverse workforce, without discrimination. But, while we’ve collectively made leaps and bounds over recent years, there’s still a way to go to ensure full inclusivity.
Because while you may welcome everyone with open arms, there’s still a huge number of LGBT+ people who still don’t feel comfortable being themselves at work. And that’s very sad. If you have any concerns that this is happening in your business, here are some steps that might help your company become a safe, inclusive space…
LGBT+ Inclusion Policy
Review your policies. If you haven’t already, create a separate policy for LGBT+ inclusion, to make it clear that you’re committed to tackling discrimination. Provide training for all of your management on LGBT+ issues. You can then make your managers responsible for ensuring that policies are understood and adhered to across the entire business.
LGBT+ Network
If your business is on the larger side, you may want to consider creating an LGBT+ network to provide a safe space for LGBT+ staff. This can also provide you with valuable feedback to help you improve your efforts in creating a fully inclusive workplace. Having open and regular conversations with employees will improve engagement, trust, and company culture. You can also use this as an opportunity to learn valuable information to support your team in a better way.
Pronouns
Finally, you may also want to include preferred pronouns on your email signatures, on your website, and anywhere else your employees may be on display to the world. This is becoming normal practice, and can stop gender being assumed for everyone in the business.
If you’d like more advice on how to support LGBT+ employees and making your company inclusive, give us a call on 01383 668 178 to see how we can help.