Talent Acquisition | Winning the war for talent through LGBTQ+ inclusion

The workplace has become central to the fight for equality and many employers are realising that the best weapon to win the war for talent is inclusion.

More companies are now aware that if they want to attract and retain diverse talent, they need to foster a welcoming environment. Yet survey after survey continues to show that professionals from marginalised communities are still discriminated against at work. Data, coupled with stories and anecdotal evidence published on our platform myGwork, confirm that many LGBTQ+ graduates go back into the closet upon entering the workforce. Similarly, when LGBTQ+ professionals start a new job, they hide their sexuality. Additionally, many LGBTQ+ leaders remain closeted at work for fear of discrimination at work.

In fact, the latest TUC survey carried out by YouGov, revealed that one in five workplaces still do not have any policies in place to support their LGBTQ+ staff at work. More worryingly, only half (51%) have a policy prohibiting discrimination, bullying and harassment against LGBTQ+ workers in their workplace. And less than half (47%) have a clear reporting route for workers to raise concerns about discrimination, bullying and harassment against LGBTQ+ workers.

We believe that workers should not feel that they need to hide their sexuality at work. In fact, that’s the very reason we set up myGwork, after experiencing discrimination first hand in the workplace. Now considered the largest networking platform for LGBTQ+ professionals in the world, our all-in-one platform – for networking, job searching, diversity and inclusion training, workshops, mentoring, news and events – is hugely popular with corporate clients because we help to address workplace discrimination towards LGBTQ+ people and help to create environments where every professional – regardless of sexual orientation, race or background –gets an equal opportunity to succeed.