June is Pride Month, when the world’s LGBTQ+ communities celebrate the freedom to be their authentic selves. The impact is not only felt in our communities, but within the workplace as well.
Today, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, about 30% of LGBTQ+ workers are “exhausted from concealing their authentic selves,” and 46% are still “closeted” at their workplace. Despite progress in becoming a vibrant part of our daily lives and culture, most in the LGBTQ+ community still fear reprisals and being ostracized by colleagues.
The byproduct of ignoring this could result in increased turnover and challenges in talent pipelining and attraction. More importantly, it could impact and stifle your employees’ ability to feel welcome and comfortable to be their true, authentic selves. This all affects their mental well-being and sense of safety.
What we should all aspire to is creating a sense of understanding and promoting dialogue to help people realize not only the challenges and fears of the LGBTQ+ community, but ultimately how they want to be treated and respected to live a happy life as everyone deserves.
It’s not about endorsing a certain lifestyle. It’s about affording everyone around you the same level of dignity and respect that each one of us innately deserves. This acknowledgment will undeniably lead to better collaboration, better talent attraction, a more unified workforce and culture, and a renewed sense of belonging amongst your organization and community.
For more on workplace inclusion, watch this IDEAL Roundtable recording where I moderate an panel discussion on how to nurture your organization to be more LGBTQ+ inclusive and dispel the stereotypes. You can also check out this MIT Sloan Management Review article on belonging in the workforce.
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