Pride Past June: 6 Ways Your Company Can Support the LGBTQ Community Long-Term

10 minute read

Jul 8

As June winds down and July rolls around, the glitter settles, companies remove their rainbow logos, and Pride flags are lowered- only to hibernate until next June. This is a mistake many companies make; they neglect the fact that the LGBTQ community deserves visible celebration and sustained support throughout all 12 months of the year. While demonstrating your company’s commitment to the LGBTQ community during Pride Month is essential, this solidarity must stick.

Here’s how your company can continue supporting the LGBTQ community in the long-term:

1. Recognize that language matters. The language that you use to refer to people, across the board, is an easy way to promote inclusion within your company. One manner of this rests in general terms you may use everyday. Make a conscious, company-wide effort to use gender-inclusive language. You might be surprised how frequently gendered language, and specifically language that reinforces a very rigid gender binary, creeps into the way we speak. Unlearn these patterns of speech and avoid using unnecessarily gendered terms. For instance, instead of addressing a group as “ladies and gentlemen”, try “distinguished guests” or instead of saying “hey guys” trying using terms like “y’all”, “friends” or “folks”. In a situation like this, we can rarely be sure of the identities of all who are present and should never assume that everyone identifies as either a “lady” or “gentlemen”. Using words that avoid gendering the group is a much more inclusive way to be sure that people of all genders feel welcome and included.

Another example of the importance of language can be found in how we refer to one another. Pronouns are the words we use to refer to someone in place of their name (ex. Heh/Him, She/Her, They/Them, Xe/Xem). Using someone’s correct pronouns shows that you respect them for who they are and honor their identity. Institutionalize this practice of respecting pronouns by including your pronouns in your email signature, on your business cards, and whenever you introduce yourself!

“Using words that avoid gendering the group is a much more inclusive way to be sure that people of all genders feel welcome and included.”

2. Invest in your workplace culture. We know that employee resource groups (ERGs) can be an impactful tool for fostering inclusion. Creating and investing in ERGs is a clear way that a company can show an investment in the success and felt experience of their LGBTQ staff. ERGs are an opportunity to build relationships with other LGBTQ staff and allies, brainstorm culture innovations for senior leadership, find and develop mentorships, and continuously cultivate a culture of inclusion.

In a recent article, the chief marketing officer of a global professional-services company stated, “It’s not the benefits, conferences, and ERGs that drive differentiated outcomes, it’s the employee’s everyday touch points.” These are the small moments that we often overlook but have a huge impact on how comfortable someone can feel showing up and being out at work. That is why it is critical to invest in developing the culture of the entire staff, rather than solely giving benefits to LGBTQ employees. By making sure that LGBTQ have managers that are allies, mentors than care about their felt experience, and policies that allow for people to have clear guidelines on what to do in case of a microaggression or misstep, companies can serve as a genuine, long-term partner in creating an inclusive culture for all employees.

3. Don’t alienate employees through your dress code. While dress codes may seem trivial, they can have a huge impact on your employees and their well-being in the workplace. If your organization has a dress code, it should be written and enforced in a manner that avoids gender binary guidelines. Dress codes that require men to wear suits and offer prescriptive guidelines for women, while legal, are based on societal gender stereotypes and can be harmful to those that don’t identify within that binary structure. For many people, having only two options is, in actuality, a no-option scenario and the anxiety related to having to choose can decrease employees’ sense of psychological safety at work and can, in turn, reduce overall levels of productivity, creativity and innovation.

As you develop dress codes (or reevaluate the one you currently have) consider avoiding the following:

gender specific preferences like “Men should wear slacks and a tie or a jacket” or “Women can wear skirts or dresses”
Listing "no-no's" that are gender specific like telling women to avoid too-short skirts or plunging necklines
Detailing grooming guidelines that only apply to some subsets of people
Advice on how to dress like "don't flaunt your body"

Instead, spell out specific dress code rules by article of clothing, not by gender, use non-gendered pronouns, and make sure that any grooming guidelines could apply to anyone. Rather than being overly prescriptive and placing unnecessary burdens on anyone based on their identity, try to empower employees to manage their own appearance to the best of their judgement in accordance with professional expectations. Making space for identity expression creates an environment where your employees feel like they can bring their full selves to work, and that element of safety and acceptance is crucial to having a fully inclusive space.

“Dress codes that require men to wear suits and offer prescriptive guidelines for women, while legal, are based on societal gender stereotypes and can be harmful to those that don’t identify within that binary structure.”

4. Ensure that your workplace benefits equitably address LGBTQ+ employees’ needs. One of the most important things your company can do to support trans and gender non-conforming employees is to ensure that your healthcare benefits cover their specific needs. Twenty-eight states in the US offer no legal requirement that private health insurance must include gender-affirming healthcare; in those states, it is up to each company to opt-in to life-saving treatments like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and gender affirmation surgery. Where and when possible, investigate removing burdensome barriers like extended waiting periods, legal name and gender marker changes, or multiple letters from healthcare providers.

In addition to healthcare, personal, spousal, and family benefits should equitably and explicitly cover LGBTQ employees’ concerns. These might include extending spousal benefits to domestic partners; updating parental policies to support new parents of all genders and circumstances (including surrogacy, adoption and fostering at all ages); and confirming equal access to time off for caregiving, bereavement, and other family needs. Consider your obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as a starting point, not the end goal.

5. Add policies and trainings to your company agenda. Developing a space that is safe for your LGBTQ employees requires work that is continuing and extends beyond surface level offerings. In order to do that, proactive steps need to be taken to prevent discrimination and harassment against your LGBTQ employees. Being proactive means starting from a place of education – everyone has different levels of understanding regarding various topics and requiring trainings on concepts like harassment-prevention that covers sexual orientation and gender identity as well as cultural competency, respect, allyship, and privilege can start the process on being sure your workforce is starting with that base of education. Trainings can happen as often as you see fit, but providing them to all employees (not just your LGBTQ employees) is a great step in the right direction.

In addition, it’s important that your policies cement what was learned during the training. While your company might have an anti-harassment policy, often these polices aren’t fully comprehensive to include interactions that are experienced by LGBTQ employees. Policies should include language around LGBTQ harassment and should also provide detailed—but easy-to-follow—reporting procedures. It’s also important that these clear and detailed policies are accessible and enforced. Policies are ineffective if employees are unaware that they exist and if employees feel that action wouldn’t be taken should such harassment be reported. These policies need to not only exist, but they need to be clear, available, and consistently enforced.

“Making space for identity expression creates an environment where your employees feel like they can bring their full selves to work, and that element of safety and acceptance is crucial to having a fully inclusive space.”

6. Invest in the LGBTQ community overall. One of the best ways to put action behind your commitment is for your company to invest in the LGBTQ community at large. Consider a partnership with a local, grassroots, LGBTQ non-profit through donating a portion of your company’s sales/revenue. By doing this, your team knows that you are not investing in inclusion solely for your business’s benefits but for the benefit of the entire LGBTQ community. As a best practice, pay close attention to local organizations that are doing direct impact work with the LGBTQ community, including those run by BIPOC leaders. This way you can ensure that your dollar has a maximum impact for those who need it.

Additionally, you can encourage everyone at your company to seek out and use LGBTQ businesses. This can be anything from using LGBTQ vendors for in-person events to providing a sharable database for employees to reference at their leisure. Being smart about where you are spending your dollar, both personally and professionally, shows your team that you have a strategic and holistic approach to supporting the LGBTQ community.