Beyond Rainbow Flags
Building a Truly Inclusive Workplace
From policies to training to benefits, there are many ways to make your workplace more LGBTQ+ friendly, which has the added benefit of making your organization more welcoming to people from all types of diverse backgrounds: women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, military veterans, and others. In addition to training (for example, diversity and inclusion courses from Syntrio) and policy, your organization can use LGBTQ+ inclusive language in internal and external communications, have an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and consider donating to LGBTQ+-related causes.
Hopefully, when Pride Month comes around next year, you can feel confident that your company’s rainbow logo is backed by a deeply held commitment to inclusion, diversity, and anti-discrimination.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
In a word, but consider the stereotypes and conscious and unconscious bias we all bring to work. Multiply this lack of civility awareness by the number of employees in an organization, and you see the challenge. Only self-awareness and emotional intelligence (EQ) training (both offered by Syntrio) can help us understand what our words and actions may do to another person. It’s no secret that enlightened organizations (and those that inspire to be) incorporate self-awareness and EQ training as essential to their respectful and civil workplace initiatives.Building a Truly Inclusive Workplace
From policies to training to benefits, there are many ways to make your workplace more LGBTQ+ friendly, which has the added benefit of making your organization more welcoming to people from all types of diverse backgrounds: women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, military veterans, and others. In addition to training (for example, diversity and inclusion courses from Syntrio) and policy, your organization can use LGBTQ+ inclusive language in internal and external communications, have an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and consider donating to LGBTQ+-related causes.
Hopefully, when Pride Month comes around next year, you can feel confident that your company’s rainbow logo is backed by a deeply held commitment to inclusion, diversity, and anti-discrimination.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
In a word, but consider the stereotypes and conscious and unconscious bias we all bring to work. Multiply this lack of civility awareness by the number of employees in an organization, and you see the challenge. Only self-awareness and emotional intelligence (EQ) training (both offered by Syntrio) can help us understand what our words and actions may do to another person. It’s no secret that enlightened organizations (and those that inspire to be) incorporate self-awareness and EQ training as essential to their respectful and civil workplace initiatives.Building a Truly Inclusive Workplace
From policies to training to benefits, there are many ways to make your workplace more LGBTQ+ friendly, which has the added benefit of making your organization more welcoming to people from all types of diverse backgrounds: women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, military veterans, and others. In addition to training (for example, diversity and inclusion courses from Syntrio) and policy, your organization can use LGBTQ+ inclusive language in internal and external communications, have an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and consider donating to LGBTQ+-related causes.
Hopefully, when Pride Month comes around next year, you can feel confident that your company’s rainbow logo is backed by a deeply held commitment to inclusion, diversity, and anti-discrimination.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
During Pride Month, you probably see the rainbow Pride flag everywhere, including in the logos of companies and brands you follow on social media. While this type of representation and visible allyship is valuable, your organization must match its public displays of support with internal policies and a workplace culture that genuinely includes LGBTQ+ employees. Just under half of LGBTQ+ employees are still closeted (meaning they are not open about their sexual orientation and gender identity) at work, and 42% of LGBTQ+ individuals report having experienced employment discrimination, according to a 2012 survey.According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 91% of Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies. Making your company a safe and supportive place to work for all individuals regardless of gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation is not only the right thing to do but also is linked to measurably positive business outcomes. Businesses that are LGBTQ+ friendly report economic benefits in the following areas:
- Recruitment and Retention: According to data from Glassdoor, over two-thirds of job seekers say that a diverse workforce is a significant factor when deciding whether to apply for a job or accept a job offer. Inclusive workplaces attract top talent and are less likely to have employees leave their jobs due to discrimination. The Center for American Progress cites a study estimating that replacing over two million workers who quit due to discrimination has an estimated annual cost of $64 billion.
- Higher Revenues: The same Chamber of Commerce report notes, “Those publicly held companies with LGBT-friendly policies have seen their stock prices increase by an average 6.5% compared with their industry peers.”
- Customer/Consumer Relationships: According to research cited in The Advocate, the LGBTQ+ population in the United States represented $917 billion in buying power in 2017. As a consumer base, LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies also tend to be more brand loyal, with over 75% of LGBTQ+ adults (and their partners, friends, and family members) saying they would switch to brands known to be LGBTQ+ friendly.
- Innovation: Research by the Center for Talent Innovation found that inherently diverse companies demonstrate more incredible market innovation due to a “speak up” culture that allows the ideas of more employees to be heard. Furthermore, they found that when business teams have “one or more members who represent the gender, ethnicity, culture, or sexual orientation of the team’s target end user, the entire team is far more likely (as much as 158% more likely) to understand that target, increasing their likelihood of innovating effectively for that end user.”
Can Respect and Civility Be Trained?
In a word, but consider the stereotypes and conscious and unconscious bias we all bring to work. Multiply this lack of civility awareness by the number of employees in an organization, and you see the challenge. Only self-awareness and emotional intelligence (EQ) training (both offered by Syntrio) can help us understand what our words and actions may do to another person. It’s no secret that enlightened organizations (and those that inspire to be) incorporate self-awareness and EQ training as essential to their respectful and civil workplace initiatives.
Building a Truly Inclusive Workplace
From policies to training to benefits, there are many ways to make your workplace more LGBTQ+ friendly, which has the added benefit of making your organization more welcoming to people from all types of diverse backgrounds: women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, military veterans, and others. In addition to training (for example, diversity and inclusion courses from Syntrio) and policy, your organization can use LGBTQ+ inclusive language in internal and external communications, have an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and consider donating to LGBTQ+-related causes.
Hopefully, when Pride Month comes around next year, you can feel confident that your company’s rainbow logo is backed by a deeply held commitment to inclusion, diversity, and anti-discrimination.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
During Pride Month, you probably see the rainbow Pride flag everywhere, including in the logos of companies and brands you follow on social media. While this type of representation and visible allyship is valuable, your organization must match its public displays of support with internal policies and a workplace culture that genuinely includes LGBTQ+ employees. Just under half of LGBTQ+ employees are still closeted (meaning they are not open about their sexual orientation and gender identity) at work, and 42% of LGBTQ+ individuals report having experienced employment discrimination, according to a 2012 survey.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 91% of Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies. Making your company a safe and supportive place to work for all individuals regardless of gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation is not only the right thing to do but also is linked to measurably positive business outcomes. Businesses that are LGBTQ+ friendly report economic benefits in the following areas:
- Recruitment and Retention: According to data from Glassdoor, over two-thirds of job seekers say that a diverse workforce is a significant factor when deciding whether to apply for a job or accept a job offer. Inclusive workplaces attract top talent and are less likely to have employees leave their jobs due to discrimination. The Center for American Progress cites a study estimating that replacing over two million workers who quit due to discrimination has an estimated annual cost of $64 billion.
- Higher Revenues: The same Chamber of Commerce report notes, “Those publicly held companies with LGBT-friendly policies have seen their stock prices increase by an average 6.5% compared with their industry peers.”
- Customer/Consumer Relationships: According to research cited in The Advocate, the LGBTQ+ population in the United States represented $917 billion in buying power in 2017. As a consumer base, LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies also tend to be more brand loyal, with over 75% of LGBTQ+ adults (and their partners, friends, and family members) saying they would switch to brands known to be LGBTQ+ friendly.
- Innovation: Research by the Center for Talent Innovation found that inherently diverse companies demonstrate more incredible market innovation due to a “speak up” culture that allows the ideas of more employees to be heard. Furthermore, they found that when business teams have “one or more members who represent the gender, ethnicity, culture, or sexual orientation of the team’s target end user, the entire team is far more likely (as much as 158% more likely) to understand that target, increasing their likelihood of innovating effectively for that end user.”
Can Respect and Civility Be Trained?
In a word, but consider the stereotypes and conscious and unconscious bias we all bring to work. Multiply this lack of civility awareness by the number of employees in an organization, and you see the challenge. Only self-awareness and emotional intelligence (EQ) training (both offered by Syntrio) can help us understand what our words and actions may do to another person. It’s no secret that enlightened organizations (and those that inspire to be) incorporate self-awareness and EQ training as essential to their respectful and civil workplace initiatives.
Building a Truly Inclusive Workplace
From policies to training to benefits, there are many ways to make your workplace more LGBTQ+ friendly, which has the added benefit of making your organization more welcoming to people from all types of diverse backgrounds: women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, military veterans, and others. In addition to training (for example, diversity and inclusion courses from Syntrio) and policy, your organization can use LGBTQ+ inclusive language in internal and external communications, have an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and consider donating to LGBTQ+-related causes.
Hopefully, when Pride Month comes around next year, you can feel confident that your company’s rainbow logo is backed by a deeply held commitment to inclusion, diversity, and anti-discrimination.
