LGBTQ Inclusion in the workplace

One of the things we pride ourselves on here at DeskLodge is that people come to one of our locations and work alongside people from every background, every demographic, every race, every belief and every sexuality and orientation. It doesn’t matter to us how people live, and who they love.

Although last month was ‘officially’ Pride month, we believe LGBTQ+ Inclusion &Appreciation should be encouraged every day, all year round. Here are a few ways you can make your workspace LGBTQ+ inclusive.

Encourage a LGBTQ+ community
By creating a friendly and supportive internal LGBTQ+ network community, not only will you make everyone feel valued, respected and loved, but it will probably result in better employee retention. In this day and age, that’s gold dust.

Update policies
If you’re in charge of issuing policies, then make sure they’re up to date, inclusive and reflect the LGBTQ+ community. Take a look at things like pensions and parental leave, being extra careful around phrases like ‘father’ and ‘mother’.

Provide LGBTQ+ training
For some, the LGBTQ+ landscape can be hard to navigate, and lots of people might be scared about saying the wrong thing, even when there’s no malice involved. For example, not everyone in your team will know what the right terminology or pronoun to address an LGBTQ + colleague. Diversity training is a useful way to educate the team about the right language to use. Perhaps even create a list of ‘inclusive’ terms, and ‘non-inclusive’ terms.

Speak out
Offensive comments or ‘banter’ about someone’s gender, identity, sexuality should never be tolerated. It’s worth letting your team know – whether LGBTQ+ or not – that it’s their responsibility to report or challenge any negative comments.

Keep things confidential

Ensure confidentiality to all staff, unless they have clearly stated otherwise. Also, you might already be aware that of the legal considerations under GDPR because sexual orientation and gender identity are classed as ‘special category data’. This kind of data need extra protection and has to be thought of as strictly confidential.

We’re sure everyone is on the same page when we say that all people should be treated fairly and equally in the workplace. So let’s all do our bit to make sure everybody who passes through the DeskLodge doors are always treated with respect and love.