Five Steps to Create a More Inclusive Workplace Environment
June celebrations of pride month might have wrapped but, we at Dress For Success Austin want to acknowledge the unique obstacles that LGBTQ+ women encounter in the workplace and how organizations can create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all colleagues.
A McKinsey Quarterly report noted that on June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination against workers’ gender identity or sexual orientation is illegal. While this was an accomplishment within the LGBTQ+ community and society, LGBTQ+ women continue to feel excluded. One of the reasons for this feeling of exclusion can be linked to underrepresentation or isolation. In another McKinsey & Company report, they found that LGBTQ+ women employees often feel isolated from one another in the workplace. This isolation has also been associated with feelings of being the only one on a team or in a meeting with their given gender identity, sexual orientation or race, referenced by McKinsey & Company as “onlyness.” These issues have been linked to an overall negative work experience including a lack of motivation towards becoming a top executive, higher levels of stress, and increased rates of sexual harassment and discrimination.
Another form of discrimination LGBTQ+ women face in the workplace are nonverbal or verbal microaggressions. McKinsey explains these actions and words may be unintentional, but organizations can mitigate dehumanizing actions by being made aware of this harmful behavior:
Hearing demeaning remarks
Sensing degrading body language toward them or similar people
Feeling pressured to play along with sexual discussion, humor or actions
Being a target of sexist jokes about their gender
Being a target of sexual harassment.
There are several ways to improve the inclusivity of your workplace environment. While you personally may not relate to these hardships, understanding the frustrations LGBTQ+ employees may face is the first step toward inclusivity.
Below are five steps that McKinsey recommends businesses take to create a welcoming and inclusive workplace environment for LGBTQ+ colleagues:
Educate your team
Make it a priority to educate your employees by holding training sessions that address microaggressions, unconscious biases, and promote respect to all colleagues. Providing education can help shape employees’ day-to-day experiences.
Set a meaningful public example
Inspire confidence in your employees by displaying visible symbols of support and encouraging employees to follow in your footsteps. Make a public commitment by sponsoring LGBTQ+ events and refer to LGBTQ+ relationships the same way you refer to other relationships.
Stamp out inappropriate behavior
After proper education and training, employees should be able to recognize and respond to inappropriate behavior. If staff members do not feel comfortable addressing certain situations, then create safe channels to report and correct these behaviors.
Make the ‘only’ experience rare
This can be done during recruitment by opening up the pool to diverse candidates and following up with feedback after their interviews. Resources should be created for LGBTQ+ employees to feel safe and welcome in their workplace.
Promote inclusivity in remote-working environments
Leaders can establish clear lines of communication to help employees stay up-to-date on tasks and provide them with any additional support. For example, rotating speaking roles amongst all employees during meetings encourages all voices to be heard.
With these steps in mind, your organization can make improvements to include LGBTQ+ colleagues and create a healthy work environment. Despite recent improvements to diversity in the workplace, this issue still deserves our attention so we can evolve toward a healthier and more inclusive work space.
McKinsey & Company: “How the LGBTQ+ community fares in the workplace.” June 2020.
McKinsey Quarterly: “LGBTQ+ voices: Learning from lived experiences.” June 2020.