- 1. Sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace The
ultimate litmus test for inclusion
2. Who are we and what do we do? 3. Diversity vs Inclusion Brian
McNaught 4. Australian Diversity Practice L esbian G ay B isexual T
ransgender I ntersex Lesscommon (risks not addressed) Most common
(covered) 5. Why is LGBT inclusion SO important?
- Sexual orientation and gender identity
-
- Naturally on display, at the core of who we are
- Inclusive culture for all employees regardless of
- Addresses hidden population at risk
- Impacts of stigma, social exclusion and homophobia
- Fear of repercussions, confrontation, impacts
- Imposed silencelack of personal authenticity
- Constant need for self editing of conversations, responses,
lifestyle
- Heightened levels workplace stress
- Negative impacts to mental health and wellbeing
- Auditing of perceived discrimination / homophobic
behaviour
- Health and wellbeing risk
- Risk to employee productivity and engagement
- Unaddressed : risk to culture of respect and inclusion
6. What LGBT inclusion is / is not about 7. The dangers of
heterosexism Intersex Transgender Androgynous Man Sex Male Gender
(Identity) Masculine Gender(RoIe) Opposite sex Orientation Woman
Female Feminine Bisexual Same Sex 8. Diversity of Sex, Gender,
Orientation Intersex Transgender Androgynous Man Sex Male Gender
(Identity) Masculine Gender(RoIe) Opposite sex Orientation Woman
Female Feminine Bisexual Same Sex 9. Stereotyping Aussie Male
Aussie Female Gay man Lesbian 10. Cultural Scan How inclusive is
your organisation? (1-10) How comfortable would you be with an
openly gay colleague working next to you?(1-10) Scenario:Family
picnic 11. WORKPLACE CULTURE Assessed Internal policies, diversity
training, education, awareness, values, support Management
commitment / follow-through (leadership) Individual responses (you)
STRATEGY A: Personal Authenticity STRATEGY B: Avoidance STRATEGY C:
Fictionalise partner 4x more likely discriminated against Personal
/Team /Organisational Impacts Personal /Team /Organisational
Impacts 12. What we know
- Silent or hidden population : false sense of security.
- According to research,2 out of 5 LGBT staff members have
changed jobs due to discriminationand are4 timesmore likely to be
discriminated against. Irwin, J (2002),The Pink Ceiling is too low,
University of Sydney.
- Almost half of LGBT people experiencing discrimination in the
workplace report that theyachieve less at work . The gay census
(2008), SameSame.com.au
- 50% of LGBT employees would feel more committed and loyalto
employers who introduced LGBT diversity policies and programs.The
gay census (2008), SameSame.com.au
- Concealing ones sexual orientationat work reduces performance
and has significant impacts on employee health and wellbeing,
workplace stress and depression.In Australia, approximately one
third of LGBT staff hide their orientation to all or some of their
colleagues. The gay census (2008), SameSame.com.au
- Young People: growing up in a somewhat more accepting culture
confronted with exclusion for the first time in a workplace
generational changes significant impact on ability to attract and
retain and on managerial ability to manage difference or diversity
conflicts.
13. What we know
- Organisational Culture and evidence of LGBT inclusion plays
asignificant rolein an individuals assessment of a safe
environment, and hence decision for personal authenticity.Raymond
Trau, Postdoctoral researcher, Sydney University.
- LGBT inclusion serves as alitmus testfor all other aspects of
inclusion statements all encompassing and without
prejudice.Significant message for non LGBT employees re:
organisational stand on safe and inclusive workplace for all
regardless
- Globally : career / advancement impacts for global
movements.
14. Still misunderstood:common responses
- We treat everybody the same, we dont discriminate
- We dont think we have enough people to form an LGBT
network
- We dont have a problem here, we have several high profile
people who are open about their sexuality and nobody has ever
raised a complaint
- Sexual orientation is a private issue that doesnt belong in the
workplace
- We dont think sexual orientation is something we can
- People should not be forced to disclose their sexuality
- Our executive have concerns for lost
- Not the right time for us
cant be an inclusive organisationif you are still choosing to
exclude non-inclusion sends a very real message. 15.
Consideration
- Who are you asking if your culture is LGBT inclusive?
-
- If your culture is not visibly inclusive, your population is
invisible
- Where do you send global talent?
-
- Are you inadvertently negatively impacting careers?
- What do your new graduates believe?
-
- Do they need to learn to be personally inauthentic?
- Legislation has changed for same-sex couples / families?
-
- Are your policies up to date?
-
- Is your HR team well informed?
- People who are used to taking on false personas suffer the
consequences
-
- Is your workplace safe and inclusive for ALL your
employees?
-
- Do you promote personal authenticity as a leadership
quality?
- Visible inclusion is the single greatest factor in determining
an organisations inclusivity?
-
- How visible is your LGBT inclusion (beyond legal EEO)?
-
- How active is your LGBT employee network group? Do you have
one?
16. Leading the way
- Australian Federal Police
- Accenture / Macquarie University
- University of WA / Curtin University
17. Some of our members
- Australian Federal Police
- Bank of America / Merrill Lynch
Thank you & Questions