What every organisation can do today – internally and externally – to support queer employees.
I came out almost 30 years ago. Today I am a VP at Great Place To Work®. Meet Sarah Lewis-Kulin, VP at Great Place To Work® US.
I’ve been married for over two decades to a kind and beautiful woman with whom I share two great kids. I live in a place where it is the norm for school principals, religious leaders, doctors and civic leaders to be queer.
But you’re wrong if you think that my days of coming out are behind me and I don’t need workplace support.
Coming out isn’t a one-time thing people do and put behind them. Every time there’s a new hire, new boss, or collaboration with a new department, your people have to make choices about whether to foster true connections and honesty with teammates (“What does your husband do?” “What did you do this weekend?”) — or hide.
And anyone who creates great workplaces knows that trust and connection are essential components of innovative and high-performing teams. But even at the very best workplaces in the country, LGBTQ+ employees lag their colleagues in key areas, including well-being and psychological support in the workplace.
Workplaces are not the same for LGBTQ+ employees
In a study of nearly half a million people, Great Place To Work found that the biggest discrepancy between LGBTQ+ and straight employees’ experiences at work is their psychological safety. Even at great workplaces, LGBTQ+ employees are 7% less likely to have a psychologically and emotionally healthy work environment compared with their straight coworkers.
Asian and Pacific Islander (API) LGBTQ+ employees are particularly at risk. Twenty percent of API LGBTQ+ people have had a depression diagnosis, compared with just 7% of cisgender, heterosexual API adults. Great Place To Work data also reveals that in the workplace, even among the top companies in the nation, being LGBTQ+ puts Asian employees at an 11% higher risk for retention than straight Asian colleagues. And 14% fewer find their work meaningful.
Company efforts to address these gaps must overcome a specific set of pressures. When analysing employee comments about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives, we’ve observed unique pushback on various DEIB programmes.
- Programmes focused on race and ethnicity receive pushback challenging the perceived merit of underrepresented minorities.
- People who object to LGBTQ+ programmes urge their companies to avoid the very mention of LGBTQ+ initiatives and attack the visibility of LGBTQ+ employees.
But denial is not a realistic strategy. The percent of people identifying as LGBTQ+ has roughly doubled in each generation from traditionalists (born before 1946) to Gen Z. Today, 11% of millennials are LGBTQ+ and 21% of Gen Z identifies as LGBTQ+. Companies must do better to support the one out of five employees who are part of this talent pool.
Powerful ways to support LGBTQ+ employees at work
Gender identity and sexual orientation should never lead to job loss or other workplace discrimination.
With human decency and sound business decisions as the baseline, here are key things your company can do better to support LGBTQ+ employees.
Make a point to counteract the pressure to be silent and “say gay” — in ways big and small
If this is something your company isn’t used to, you might feel awkward at first. That means you’re doing something right – the discomfort you take on should make the workplace more welcoming for LGBTQ+ employees.
“Saying gay” at work can look like:
- Publicly celebrating Pride and telling stories of how your business interacts with and supports the LGBTQ+ community.
- Acknowledging significant community joys, tragedies, or fears.
- Auditing employee benefits and communications to evaluate how every line applies to LGBTQ+ people —LGBTQ+ employees must often read between the lines to find their places in family leave, fertility benefits, and even holiday invitations.
- Funding volunteer activities.
- Sponsoring an ERG group and soliciting ways the group would like company support.
If you have leaders who are out, ask if they’d be willing to tell their story publicly so others know they can be themselves and be promoted, too. Leaders should ask queer employees the same questions about spouses and partners that they do straight employees — how they met, what they do for work, their weekend plans — to show none of this is taboo.
Silence is not neutral. Proactive inclusion – like including everyone’s pronouns on Zoom profiles – signal that LGBTQ+ employees are safe and respected in your workplace. Companies should also reflect on differences in what they say and do in public versus internal spaces.
Do you only talk about LGBTQ+ people when you make your logo a rainbow on social media during Pride month? Do you rely on and appreciate your LGBTQ+ teammates, but are too scared of brand risk to make that support publicly visible?
Any disconnect stands out as hypocrisy and renders even positive actions untrustworthy.
Invest in employee well-being initiatives
Many companies are investing in employee well-being programmes and enjoying benefits like three-fold improvement in retention and recruitment. But well-being initiatives only have a chance at rectifying the discrepancy in straight and LGBTQ+ people’s experiences if you also “say gay.”
Otherwise, they’ll just call the Employee Assistance Programme or use daily meditation and exercise to deal with the distress of being in a workplace where the stakes are too high to let their guard down.
Invest in this work knowing that you might not be aware of everyone who will benefit
Don’t make the mistake of assuming you know how many or which people in your organisation would be supported by an ERG or feel included through your DEIB efforts.
Nearly 60% of LGBTQ+ people are bisexual and 10% are transgender. More than one out of four LGBTQ+ employees are not out at work.
I can’t tell you how many times a company, such as a religious organisation or a small town business – has told me that they don’t have LGBTQ+ people in their organisation, industry or community — and how many times the data has proven they’re wrong.
Take the time to send a gender-neutral plus-one invite to the holiday party, create an inclusive benefits package, wear a name tag with your pronouns — and you might be surprised by who feels your care.
Be an ally here and now
Meet with your ERG to learn more about people’s lives and how your company can support the LGBTQ+ community. Acknowledge the pressure that they’re under in the current zeitgeist. Be visible and unapologetic in your internal and public actions.
Being an ally is about fundamentally sending a signal that LGBTQ+ relationships matter and LGBTQ+ people are full citizens of this country — even as our community continues to face disproportionate job loss and fatal violence.
While “saying gay” is a necessary signal, supporting LGBTQ+ rights is the necessary action.
Become great
Ready to learn more about your employee experience? Want to start your journey and work towards that label?
Contact us!
source: Great Place To Work US.
A special thanks to Sarah Lewis-Kulin, VP at Great Place To Work® US, for openly sharing her story and insights.