Every year in June, a rainbow-coloured wave sweeps through the business world: hardly any company fails to dip its logo in the rainbow during Pride Month or to emphasise its LGBTIQ+ friendliness on social media. As the number of rainbow logos grows, so do the critical questions:
What reality are these colourful posts based on?
Who is actually committed to the interests of queer people all year round?
Which businesses are settling for superficial marketing initiatives, and what exactly characterises LGBTIQ+ inclusiveness in the working world?
And why is an active role in creating a diversity-friendly workplace important at all, not just for queer employees but for everyone in the team and the business as a whole?
The impact of diversity on business
Particularly when it comes to business, female founders and leaders can proactively shape the work environments and transform them into more inclusive and welcoming places. Through their experiences of being female founders and overcoming the challenges which came with their roles, they tend to be more aware of the advantages of diversity. The encouragement of an inclusive workspace yields more significant job commitment, improves workplace relationships and job satisfaction, and improves health outcomes. It is no secret anymore that diverse teams are more effective than homogenous teams, come up with more creative solutions and drive innovation.
Nevertheless, inclusive and diverse workplaces are not automatically put in place just because the founders or leaders are female.
For one thing, female founders and leaders are not spared from unconscious biases or imprudence that all of us have. These biases are characterised by the fact that they subconsciously influence us and our decisions. On the other hand, every successful founder has to face the fact that not everything can be controlled centrally from oneself anymore. Internal processes are necessary to ensure an inclusive environment and fair procedures. In addition, implementing structures for an inclusive working environment from an early stage may save a lot of time later – namely, when others have to start elaborate change processes to transform into appreciative workplaces.
How to evaluate the diversity-friendliness of your company’s structures
Regarding LGBTIQ+ diversity, the UHLALA Group provides employers with the PRIDE Champion Audit to evaluate their current diversity initiatives. The PRIDE Champion Audit is a comprehensive auditing process based on an online questionnaire focusing on the diversity dimensions “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”. The questionnaire helps to account for the current LGBTIQ+ diversity measures and supports companies in identifying potential for future improvement. It provides them with valuable guidance on the next steps in enhancing queer-friendly workplaces. The PRIDE Champion Audit is available in four different variants, depending on the size of the company and taking into account the respective opportunities and challenges of the organisations.
About the Audit
The audit questionnaire consists of 4 parts: Organisational structure, Human Resources, Communication & Visibility and Legal framework & Regulations. Each category has various questions to ensure a holistic approach to diversity and provide recommendations regarding corporate structures, measures and processes, considering current benchmarks and best practices. Companies that achieve at least 60% of the total possible score will be awarded the PRIDE Champion Employer Seal and thus have the opportunity to make their commitment to LGBTIQ+ diversity visible to the outside world.
Suppose you want to level up your diversity management through an LGBTIQ+ perspective. In that case, you can visit our website for more information or contact us via our contact form.
UHLALA Group
Empowering LGBTIQ+ People in the Working World.
The empowerment of LGBTIQ+ people is at the core of our work! A handful of ways in which we do this, is by providing consulting and awareness trainings to companies and organisations. As LGBTIQ+ diversity and inclusion experts, we train managers and employees and accompany sustainable and positive change of corporate practices. We also and facilitate the development of safe working environments for LGBTIQ+ people.
In the area of employer branding and recruiting, our services include: STICKS & STONES, Europe’s largest job and career fair for the LGBTIQ+ community, as well as the LGBTIQ+ Audit & Employer Seal – PRIDE Champion.
In various formats, we regularly offer opportunities for best business practice exchange across companies and countries. This enables the inspiration and exchange of mutual learning processes and platforms. In addition, our LGBTIQ+ employer excellence programme “We Stay PRIDE” offers companies the opportunity for a long- term partnership and cooperation in the field of LGBTIQ+ diversity and inclusion.
Visit our website to find out more: www.uhlala.com