We’ve donned our rainbow tutus, marched in the Pride parade, and celebrated the existence and resilience of our LGBTQ+ selves and loved ones.

So now what? 

As Pride month comes to a close, what can we do to ensure that our workplaces are inclusive and equitable, positioning all employees, including LGBTQ+ staff, to bring their most creative, resilient selves to work? 

After all, at Kavi we know that it will take everyone working together in new and collaborative ways to tackle the toughest challenge any of us have faced - climate change.

And we know that successful implementation of sustainability plans in our organizations requires 150% engagement from a broad range of people with diverse skills, perspectives, backgrounds, connections, problem solving skills and talents. 

In fact, our sustainability efforts would be greatly bolstered by adapting learnings from queer ecology, points to greater understanding when we set aside strict binaries such as male/female, natural/unnatural, and right/wrong and seek solutions that are informed by our unique roles in a larger, complex and interworking system, a system capable of thriving when we move beyond our dualistic interactions with it. 

Unfortunately, this is not the work experience of many LGBTQ+ employees: 

• About 1/2 of LGBTQ+ workers in the U.S. are not out to their supervisors and 1/4 are not out to anyone at work.

• LGBTQ+ employees often change their behavior at work to avoid or minimize attention to stigmatized traits, known as “masking.” This negatively impacts their resilience, engagement, health, and well-being.

• Around 1/3 of LGBTQ+ employees report leaving a job or looking for other jobs because the work environment did not accept LGBTQ+ people

Being out at work minimizes the energy that goes into masking.  Studies demonstrate that employees who feel accepted and valued in their workplace are less likely to experience burnout and more likely to have higher rates of engagement which in turn leads to increased employee retention, productivity, and profit.  Case in point - if LGBTQ+ employees feel welcomed and accepted at work, they are half as likely to leave their current employer in the next year compared to their closeted peers.

Conversely, uninclusive work places negatively impact everyone.  Studies show that perceptions of an “in-group” and “out-group” increases errors in employees from both groups and drives decisions that are contrary to the success of the organization and individuals from both groups. 

So how can organizations ensure everyone can bring their full selves to work?

Creating an inclusive workspace starts with vision and then “baking it in.”

Vision:  At your next staff meeting or retreat, be bold and ask staff to write down ideas for what might make the workplace more welcoming. 

Baking It In: Then, make a plan for how to make changes between now and the Pride 2023.

Some ideas for creating a more queer-friendly workplace fall into three categories (also check out: Beyond Diversity: An LGBT Best Practice Guide for Employers):

1. Ensuring equitable policies 

   1. Domestic partner benefits (making sure benefits are not only for legally married couples)

   2. Transgender-inclusive benefits (ensuring healthcare policies cover transgender folx)

   3. Organizational anti-discrimination policies (ensuring sexuality and gender are protected in your policies)

   4. Using gender-inclusive language in all policies and documents (replacing he or she with “they”)

1. Creating inclusive practices 

   1. Recognition of queer and trans identities (like putting your pronouns in your email signature line and on business cards)

   2. Queer and trans employee resource groups

   3. Gender neutral bathrooms

1. Establishing new norms

   1. Don’t make assumptions about how someone identifies - treat everyone with respect

   2. Supporting LGBTQ+ employees by pairing them with mentors who are also LGBTQ+ or proven allies

   3. When introducing yourself at a meeting, proactively include your pronouns as well as your name and title

   4. Educate about the importance of inclusion: it’s good for people and good for the bottom line

If everyone can thrive in the workplace, we have a much better chance of meeting net zero goals.