Bidiversity

Some of Australia’s highest profile employers have come out in support of a ground-breaking program which aims to make workplaces more responsive to the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Called Pride In Diversity, the new program has been created by ACON – Australia’s largest community-based LGBT health organisation – in partnership with Diversity Council Australia – the independent, not-for-profit diversity advisor to business – and London-based LGBT advocacy group Stonewall UK.

Officially launched today in Sydney by the Hon. Michael Kirby, the importance of the initiative has already been recognised by a broad range of leading Australian employers which have signed up as foundation members of the program. These include IBM, KPMG, ING Australia, Goldman Sachs JBWere, Lend Lease, the Department of Defence, the Australian Federal Police and Telstra.

Pride In Diversity Director Dawn Hough says the program is Australia’s first employer support program for the inclusion of LGBT people and is all about helping Australian employers introduce human resource and diversity policies that specifically support LGBT staff. “Research shows that up to 60 per cent of LGBT people experience some form of harassment at work during their careers,” Ms Hough says. “That’s four times the rate of the general population.”

Ms Hough says the treatment that many LGBT people experience in the workplace can range from negative comments through to open abuse from both management and colleagues. “This causes many LGBT people to feel uncomfortable in their workplace which can significantly impair their performance.”

This is backed up by Dr. Raymond Trau from the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at University of Sydney. “Our research shows that an inability to be oneself at work, to constantly feel the need to self-edit conversations and to take on a different persona in order to be accepted, has a very real impact not only on the employee, but on the organisation itself,” Dr Trau says.

Ms Hough says fear of abuse or discrimination forces many LGBT people to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity while they’re at work, leading to an increase in anxiety or depression. “It’s a very serious issue and employers across the board really need to be taking action to ensure they provide a sufficient duty of care.”

ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill says following the Australian Government’s recent same-sex law reforms it’s time for employers to fully support their LGBT staff. “Many companies throughout Australia have policies that support diversity in the areas of age, gender, cultural background and disability but hardly any have initiatives that support LGBT people. We’re grateful for the support of Pride In Diversity’s foundation members and look forward to other organisations coming on board to address this important issue in Australian workplaces.”

Diversity Council Australia CEO Nareen Young says this is the first time that anything like this has been attempted in Australia. “We’re encouraging businesses and employers throughout Australia to get involved in the program. Participation allows them to not only show support for their LGBT employees but also gain business benefits in terms of reputation, recruitment, retention, productivity and market share. Stonewall UK’s Diversity Champions program has enjoyed enormous success with its LGB workplace inclusion program and now Australia has one that is set to do the same.”

Employers will also soon be able measure how inclusive their workplace is of LGBT staff with Pride In Diversity’s forthcoming Australian Workplace Equality Index. For more information, visit www.prideindiversity.com.au