The increased awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community have encouraged many people to come out and openly become a part of it. As most LGBTQIA+ community members, like most of the population, need to work to support themselves, their presence as employees can pose some challenges for the administration and HR departments.
While most companies don’t look at the gender of a candidate when hiring them, ensuring gender-diverse employees are comfortable at the workplace requires considerable planning and introducing new policies. As an HR professional, you can take the following three measures to ensure workplace diversity is as positive in real life as it appears on paper:
Keep It Professional
One of the most effective ways to manage gender-diverse employees is to assure them that their professionalism matters the most for the company and all its employees, shareholders, and customers. Therefore, LGBTQIA+ employees must focus on their work and work-related skills by simplifying their gender for others.
For example, non-binary individuals frequently change their pronouns depending on their feelings. While it is their right to be addressed by their preferred pronouns, updating colleagues and customers on their changing pronouns may distract them from getting work done. Similarly, confronting others on misgendering them can also prove unproductive. Workplace diversity doesn’t mean focusing on self-expression and ignoring the work.
Therefore, gender-diverse employees must pick a name and set of pronouns for work and stick with them no matter how they explore their identity outside of work. This also translates to the restrooms they will use throughout their employment. However, an exception can be made for employees opting for gender-affirming surgeries to reintroduce themselves after undergoing surgery.
Implement Dress Codes
LGBTQIA+ individuals tend to express their chosen gender through their appearance. However, it can appear unprofessional in formal workplaces. Accessories and jewellery can also be hazardous in certain industries.
Therefore, implementing dress codes for all employees is an effective means to manage gender-diverse employees. The dress codes must ensure the safety of employees while keeping them comfortable. All employees must be held accountable to the dress codes whether or not they identify as LGBTQIA+ community members.
Promote Cultural and Religious Inclusivity
Workplace diversity isn’t restricted to the LGBTQIA+ community; it extends to people from varied ethnicities, cultures, and religions. Providing equal chances to all eligible candidates to join the company and all deserving employees to work their way up allows easy management of gender-diverse employees.
Gender-diverse employees often feel discriminated against for being a minority. But with employees belonging to other minority groups they feel significantly more comfortable and welcomed.
Finally, don’t hesitate to listen to gender-diverse employees on the amenities and facilities at the workplace and employee benefits they need to feel more comfortable. However, ensure that the same facilities, amenities, and employee benefits are available to employees who do not identify as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The goal is to eliminate all discrimination, negative and positive, against gender-diverse employees.
