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This weekend saw Manchester Pride, one of the longest-running LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) events in the country attract thousands of visitors celebrating their community.
However, LGBT+ people are still facing discrimination in the workplace, according to research from InsuranceQuotes.com.
The report found that there were 1773 LGBT+ discrimination-based charges in the USA last year, a very small drop from 1795 in 2016 and a rise from 1458 in 2015.
While 68% of the charges were dismissed, 15% were closed due to administrative reasons, and 17% were found to be in favour of the complainant. This resulted in a total of $5.3million (£4.11 million) being paid out, or an average of $15,600 (£12,090) per case.
There are positive steps you can take at work to improve your culture for LGBT+ colleagues.
Seperate research indicates that inclusion initiatives do have a positive impact on LGBT+ people, with those working at organisations active in inclusion feeling much more comfortable, with 86% believing they can comfortably be themselves at work, HRD Australia reports.
However, non-LGBT+ people believe their organisations are better at inclusion than they are in reality, with 88% of non-LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) respondents believing that LGBTI employees can comfortably be themselves at their workplace, compared to 80% of LGBTI respondents.
The 2018 Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Employee Survey also found that more than 13% of gender diverse employees experienced ‘very high’ or ‘high’ levels of anxiety during the recruitment processes.
Luca Sale, Manager of Solutions Architecture at Amazon UK and Chair of Glamazon UK, Amazon’s LGBTQ+ employee affinity group, told HR Grapevine that it is in a business’s best interests to support their LGBT+ staff.
“Research by Stonewall shows that 25% of LGBT people are not ‘out’ to their work colleagues, and a study conducted last year by Pride in London found that 74% of the LGBT community felt the need to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity altogether,” he said.
“Yet all the research demonstrates that people perform better at work when they feel they can be their true, authentic selves."
He added that Amazon run several activities to celebrate Pride and build inclusion. “For example, this year for Pride month, we encouraged executives at Amazon to be visible and proud with a series of initiatives running from 1 June to 6 July, culminating with us marching in the Pride in London parade,” he said.
“We’re also took over the corporate spaces in our offices with rainbow colours, hosted health and fitness classes, bake-offs, a diversity fashion show and even social events with musical artists.
"We’ve also held photography competitions, stocked our cafes and kitchens with rainbow food, created Pride-themed playlists to play in the office and held an LGBTQ+ book club. Something for all employees to have fun getting involved with!”
