As a manager, we can feel helpless and not in control about what the organisation is doing on big policy matters, but this has to start somewhere, so why not with you?

For this Solve and Thrive episode we are focusing on how you can support LGBTQ colleagues.

This isn’t about paying lip service by hanging up a few rainbow flags and having a lovely buffet at the start of Pride Month, this is about being a genuine and caring ally, all year round, all of the time, and making this the norm.

Whilst discrimination laws have been about since the mid-70s, protection against discrimination relating to sexual orientation and gender reassignment is relatively new being introduced as protected characteristics with the introduction of the Equality Act 2010.

For some of the basic information around UK discrimination laws, BreatheHR have produced some great blogs and I recommend taking a read of those.

Remember in episode 1, I mentioned about understanding what the policy and procedure is for your organisation, now is a good time to go and check that – this should be legally aligned and also reflect the organisation's stance. 

There are many research papers available to show, our LGBTQ colleagues don’t feel as safe, and as supported as their heterosexual colleagues.  Stonewall report, over a third of LGBTQ people feel they need to hide who they are at work.  The CIPD, Inclusion At Work, report found 45% of trans employees experienced conflict in the previous 12 months, compared to 29% of heterosexual colleagues experiencing such.

The impact of not feeling safe and not being able to be yourself at work can be so impactful.  We don’t excel as individuals or get the best out of each individual.  Imagine that extra talent remains hidden.  Imagine as a manager, being the leader that creates a working environment where all of your team support each other and contribute as their true selves.

So do your research around who is already involved in your organisation, what are other organisations doing, when are things happening, Raven mentions awareness days so there is lots of resources and advice available, Raven also mentions why this is important, get good at understanding that and sharing your findings, people will really buy into that as it is authentic and genuine, where are things happening, be considerate of your audience – you need to provide a safe place for people to turn up, and don’t just do it once and think this is my responsibility done, make whatever you are doing a regular thing.  And how are you approaching this, which links closely to the communication side of things, remember the RACI acronym around the 4 key responsibilities of who is responsible, accountable, who needs to be consulted and informed.  Really spend some proper and regular time in this space to get communication right.

Ensure everything that you are doing is aligned to the values of the organisation and weave these into the plans you have – otherwise this becomes a stand alone action

And above all, remember to look after yourself because if you are not in a good place, how can you be expected to look after your team and lead with vision – ensure you get the support your need through time, through training, through backup. 

In this episode, we talk to Raven Nielsen. Raven is a Transformational Life Coach at Corvus Coaching, and runs LGBTQ Allyship and Awareness workshops.  Raven shares 5 top tips on how you as a manager can best support your team members and take basic steps towards creating a culture of true inclusion and respect:

1. Why is this important

2. Be a visible ally, not just say you are, take action all year round and involve staff and lead by example – share your pronouns, use gender neutral greetings, think about your language, call out bad behaviour, and let people know they can talk to you, get training

3. Have inclusive policies and ensure they cover the full employee lifecycle 

4. Be aware of misinformation and assumptions

5. Don’t expect your LGBTQ staff to be educators

 Head on over to spotify to listen to the episode or you can see us on Youtube

Resources to help raise awareness on the law, on good practice and on being an ally:

Discrimination employment law - are you guilty or not guilty? (breathehr.com)

Equality, diversity and inclusion – what every SME needs to know (breathehr.com)

Alex Lynham, LGBTQ+ consultancy and training for companies: beyondthebinarywithalex.co.uk/

Raven's background: 

All the important links to find Raven are on this Linktree: https://linktr.ee/corvuscoaching

Allyship 101 workshops: https://corvuscoaching.uk/lgbtq/

Courage Quest, 6 week programme: https://corvuscoaching.uk/courage-quest/

FIERCE courage and confidence workshop, 7th March: https://buytickets.at/corvuscoaching/1125829

Thank you, Raven, for sharing your knowledge & top tips – there is still a lot of work to do in this area of people management, although managers feeling more confident through gaining more knowledge, is a good starting point.  A position we can continue to and will continue to build on.