How Organizations Can Support 2SLGBTQPIA+ Employees Beyond Pride

Publish date: 2024-10-30

Now that Pride month is over and the rainbow logos have come down, organizations have a critical opportunity to move beyond rainbow washing to actively support 2SLGBTQPIA+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, pansexual, intersex, asexual, and other employees with diverse gender identification and sexual orientations including non-binary and gender non-conforming) employees.

Rainbow washing, according to Power to Fly, is "when companies project an image of LGBTQIA+ inclusion without implementing policies that would make that inclusion a true reality." Research published by the Harvard Business Review shows that 2SLGBTQPIA+-inclusive organizations can attract and attain top talent, win business and loyalty from a more diverse group of consumers, and drive market innovation.

Yet research by LinkedIn shows that almost 60 percent of 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees wish their organization did more to create LGBTQ+ inclusion and 36 percent would consider leaving their current employer if it doesn't do more to support 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees.

In a moment where the Human Rights Campaign has declared a National State of Emergency for the LGBTQ+ community for the first time in four decades, organizations have an outsized opportunity to meaningfully support 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees in ways that extend far beyond Pride month events.

How to Support Employees Beyond Pride Month

Extend Support Beyond Pride Month

Is your organization elevating, platforming and celebrating LGBTQ+ employees year-round or only during Pride? Ensure that you include 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees in leadership events, career development sessions, events celebrating and recognizing other heritage and visibility months and days, etc.

For example, July is Disability Pride month in the U.S. Ensuring that 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees with disabilities are highlighted during Disability Pride month is critical to recognizing and celebrating the diversity in both communities.

Is your organization intentionally and visibly supporting 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees from diverse backgrounds? The LGBTQ+ community is not a monolith. 2SLGBTQPIA+ people—like all people—have intersecting identities that shape their experiences and needs.

For example, research shows that coming out at work is more difficult for more women than it is for men and that LGB people of color experience significantly more discrimination.

Is your organization explicitly communicating that it's safe for employees to be out? With the increasing backlash against 2SLGBTQPIA+ rights, a growing number of employees are worried about whether it's safe to be out at work.

In fact, recent research by Indeed found that 65 percent of 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees are worried about how anti-LGBTQ+ legislation will affect their careers. In this context, proactively and intentionally affirming support for 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees on an ongoing basis is especially important.

Recognize and Reward 2SLGBTQPIA+ Employees Leading DEIB and Pride Efforts

Is your organization asking or relying on out 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees to routinely volunteer for DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging), ERG (employee resource group) and Pride efforts that are beyond the scope of their full-time roles?

While for many such work is highly meaningful, enjoyable and rewarding, it often requires significant additional time and effort. Ensuring that the employees who are contributing to or leading these efforts are routinely provided opportunities to rest and recharge is critical to both equitable practices and preventing burnout.

It's also critical to ensure that employees who are taking on Pride, DEIB and other 2SLGBTQPIA+- related work beyond the scope of their full-time role are regularly and meaningfully recognized and rewarded for their additional work and the value it creates across the organization. Providing training to leaders, managers and supervisors on how to recognize, appreciate, reward and include this work in performance evaluations is critical.

Is your organization relying on the same small handful of out employees for every panel, event, publicity and promotional material, etc.? If so, get curious about why. Is your organization a place that is safe and welcoming for 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees to be out? How is contributing to DEIB, Pride and related work at your organization valued and rewarded—or penalized?

Regularly Audit Your Organization's Policies, Programs and Trainings

How often and systematically does your organization audit how policies, programs, benefits and trainings to support 2SLGBTQPIA+ inclusion?

Out and Equal provides a toolkit to assess LGBTQI+ workplace inclusion that organizations can leverage to build a robust audit process. Evaluating whether your organization is providing comprehensive 2SLGBTQPIA+-inclusive benefits is a great place to start.

Do leaders and managers in your organization have effective, current training on how to create 2SLGBTQPIA+ teams, how to support a team member who is transitioning and the role of inclusive language in creating team environments that elevate inclusion and belonging? These activities are fundamental to ensuring that leaders have the skills they need to create the kind of inclusive culture that helps employees thrive and do their best work.

Are leaders across your organization modeling 2SLGBTQPIA+ inclusion? Consistently incorporating the following practices to create an inclusive culture:

Invest in Developing 2SLGBTPIA+ Leaders

How well are 2SLGBTQPIA+ individuals represented in your organization's leadership? Despite research showing that 2SLGBTQPIA+ leaders excel, the 2SLGBTQPIA+ leadership pipeline remains dramatically thin.

Less than half a percent (0.2 percent) of board seats of Fortune 500 companies are held by openly 2SLGBTQPIA+ leaders and only four Fortune 500 companies are led by openly LGBTQ CEOs.

Investing in developing 2SLGBTQPIA+ leaders and setting and sharing ambitious goals for moving toward population-proportionate representation at all levels of leadership is critical to attracting and retaining top-2SLGBTQPIA+ talent.

We have a long way to go in creating 2SLGBTQPIA+ inclusion, but organizations can leverage these strategies to ensure that workplaces move beyond rainbow-themed logos and June-only events and trainings to make supporting 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees a visible, year-round priority.

Doing so will both create more inclusive cultures where 2SLGBTQPIA+ employees can thrive and help organizations achieve the high-impact business outcomes that a thriving 2SLGBTQPIA+ employee population supports.

About the Author

Brandy L. Simula, Ph.D., ACC (she/they) is an award-winning consultant, speaker and executive coach. She has spent the last decade leveraging her doctoral training in behavioral science and social psychology to help organizations and senior leaders address critical workplace culture, leadership and organizational development challenges. An ICF-certified executive and leadership coach, they write and speak frequently on leadership and organizational development, DEIB, workplace culture, well-being, and women's and LGBTQ+ career and leadership development.

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