In the past few years, particularly around Pride month, companies have come under justified scrutiny for jumping on the Pride bandwagon.
It’s most evident with ‘Pride-washing' the logo, which pretty much every firm now does – including us.
But the key point is that inclusivity and diversity shouldn’t be a once-a-year celebration. They should be central to culture all year round.
The reasons for this are simple.
Everyone who works should feel comfortable in bringing their whole selves to work. Everyone should feel supported and appreciated, to feel seen and heard, and to be able to grow and develop within the company.
Easy to say
No firm is perfect, and we know we have work to do, however inclusion and diversity should be a conscious part of any organisation’s plans, focus, activity – everything – and something they continually look to develop.
So as this month of celebrating Pride draws to a close, we thought we’d share some thoughts on what a full year could look like.
Recognise important dates
Pride is a big one – most companies recognise this in support of the LGBTQ+ community. But there are several other days in the calendar that can be acknowledged to demonstrate true appreciation for the community. LGBTQ+ history month is in February, Bisexual visibility day is in September and World AIDS day is in December, to name a few.
Make these points in the year opportunities to celebrate and recognise, encourage the sharing of opinions and experiences, and make open conversation, appreciation and acknowledgement the norm.
Inclusion policies
Many companies talk about equal opportunities during the recruitment process. Whether it be part of a job advert or via anonymous survey questions on sexuality, gender, etc. This is a great way to show prospective candidates that you care about diversity and that it’s part of your agenda.
This can be taken a step further by creating an inclusion policy and building it into the company handbook, for example. Taking the time to make a clear statement about the company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity in the workplace ensures that the values and mission of the business are intertwined with embracing and celebrating the differences in its people.
Amplify voices
Encouraging people to be their true selves at work goes a long way to helping people feel accepted and visible.
Creating opportunities for people to have their voice heard is a positive way to promote an authentic and genuine culture that welcomes all. We’re humans first and job titles second. People should be given opportunities to talk about their experiences and stay true to who they are, all the while successfully adding value within their job roles.
Design strategy with people, rather than for them. Seek feedback on building an inclusive and diverse culture. Encourage people to be candid and form part of the solution. An example within our business is the slack channel called ‘Celebrate’ where people can share their own personal stories, alongside further support, information and resources internally.
Self-identifiers and gender
Gender identity and pronouns are fast becoming part of our everyday culture and as we see society shift to a more self-identifying approach, there are ways that we can support this change and make people feel safe and included in the workplace.
There are several ways businesses can support. Many encourage an environment where people introduce themselves with their name and pronouns. Others have pronouns as part of individual email signatures. Some have a gender-neutral bathroom so people who are gender non-conforming, non-binary or trans feel more comfortable. There are no right answers, but we should be able tofind simple ways to support that fits with our environment.
Company swag
Having merch available throughout the year, that allows people to show support for the LGBTQ+ community, can help make inclusion continually visible and permanent. Giving people the ability to demonstrate their support and allyship for the community in the workplace on an ongoing basis creates an environment of acceptance and promotes individuality.
The actions talked about here are not ones that require big budgets or a generous amount of time to bring to life. They’re little inclusion nudges, and when always present and part of the company DNA, can have a big impact on the workplace and in making the LGBTQ+ community feel embraced by the organisation.
There’s a difference between acceptance and empowerment – enable and empower people to be who they are and to be proud of what makes them different, all 365 days of the year.
