How To Create Change For The Transgender And LGBTQ+ Community In The Workplace
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It was a sign of hope when the Supreme Court's ruling on June 15th made it illegal to fire employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The decision said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status. According to the General Social Survey (GSS), one third (33 percent) of LGBTQ employees were not open in the workplace. Half of the respondents to the USTS who had a job in the past year reported hiding their gender identity at work to avoid discrimination. While this decision is important in terms of making headway, it’s clear that there is still much work to be done.
I had the tremendous honor to speak with three successful LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, and advocates to get their perspective and actionable advice. Each one of these women is fiercely committed to making change and provided powerful words of wisdom.
Why Is There Still Bias Towards LGBTQ+?
“Some in the workplace are uncomfortable working with someone LGBTQ+ because they don't know us. When we hide who we are, we don't give them the opportunity to get to know us as people who are much like themselves.” Claudia Brind-Woody is currently IBM Managing Director for the Walgreens Boots Alliance Integrated Account and one of the most powerful gay women in business. As an Out Executive at IBM, she has had the privilege and opportunity to speak all over the world on LGBTQ+ and other diversity topics.
Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Socos Labs. She is also transgender and speaks frequently on issues of LGBT inclusion and gender in technology. She answered, “Our research at Socos Labs, as well as at many others, show that simply spending time with people that violate your stereotypes reduces bias in the workplace. This strongly suggests that one big source of this discomfort is a feeling of otherness outside your experience. Those negative feelings are reduced, not by being any less you or by pretending to be the same as everyone else, but by showing others that being different is not bad.”
Hayley Sudbury, an LGBT entrepreneur, and the founder, and CEO of Werkin, a people analytics platform that uses behavioral science to promote diversity, agrees. “There’s this belief that by giving rights to one group, you’re somehow taking it away from someone else, and that’s not the case. Equality is good for all, whether you're in a same-sex or a heterosexual relationship, non-binary or whatever the combination is, benefits, policies and inclusivity are great for everyone."
Being Authentic as A Human and A Company
One of the biggest questions is why some in the workplace are so uncomfortable working with someone who is LGBTQ+? Brind-Woody replied, “Because they don’t know us. Whether LGBTQ+ perceptions come from society, family, religion, politics, social media, or elsewhere, they can only begin to be changed if we have the courage to engage authentically. When we are visible, they can see that they already know us, and perhaps love us.”
“Over the years, I've heard a lot of language used around the ideas of diversity and inclusion,” Dr. Ming explains. “Unfortunately, it’s largely just that: language. I love the true meaning of words like “authenticity”, but they very quickly get thrown around by companies who understand it’s about saying the right thing.”
When asked what companies can do to execute on those words, Dr. Ming she continues, “Companies that are willing to make sacrifices in support of all of their employees, in support of the communities that make up their customers and their neighbors - they are the ones who are saying what they actually believe. Companies that pull offices out of states and countries with non-inclusive laws are making a sacrifice. Companies that take the extra time to find exceptional black, female, and queer candidates for their executive roles, even if it would be easier to hire the first straight white guy who walks through the door, are showing the world what they believe. Sloganeering is easy. Companies whose leadership stands up to shareholders are showing the world what they truly believe.”
Brind-Woody advises those who are LGBTQ+ and are climbing the corporate ladder that, “Authenticity matters. Vulnerability matters. They engender trust, and trust is the basis for working successfully with teams and clients. Of course, if anyone wants to climb the corporate ladder, they must first be very good at what they do. When we can bring our whole selves to work, we can claim back our personal power and the energy it takes to hide, and apply them to our work.”
Does Being an LGBTQ Entrepreneur Make Things Easier?
“For me, coming out was very much linked to my entrepreneurial journey.” Sudbury shares. “I actually decided to leave the corporate world because I couldn't see the version of myself that I wanted to be. I had to work out how I was going to navigate it. What does it mean to be 'out' and how would I publicly talk about that? I think because it was all happening at the same time for me, I saw it as congruent in terms of being open about who I am. It was a part of my entrepreneurial journey for sure."
Dr. Ming answered, “I transitioned while I was an academic with a joint appointment at Stanford and UC Berkeley. Interestingly, by the time I became an entrepreneur, many people didn’t realize that I had transitioned and the biggest barrier I found to raising money for my start-ups was that venture capitalists didn’t want to fund women. The truth is, once I felt accepted in science, I felt powerful, because I had people that loved me and something I loved doing. And the business world could never take either of those away from me.”
How Can We Make Real Change?
"Basically, there's a fundamental disbelief that exists in investment that women and people of color can create companies of value. If you are up against that disbelief, you have to do things to dismantle it.” Sudbury said. "On the hiring, you've got to have targets. Because unless you do, it doesn't happen. Then, we have to make sure there is a support system to accelerate their success. That is what inclusivity is truly about. You can't just hire people. They are not going to stay if they don't feel welcome. Ideally, they would also see a version of themselves in the company’s leadership team."
Dr. Ming offered similar insight. “In our research, which is detailed in Represent!, we look at the interplay of people’s choices and the world that they experience. Why would a young ambitious woman continue to pour in late nights and weekends when she can clearly see the guy next to her making more money at a company that has no female leaders? Why would a young trans woman believe that she has a role in American society if virtually no elected officials or business leaders have shared their experiences? It turns out that choice itself is fundamentally inequitably distributed.”
“One of the things companies can do for the LGBT+ community is to offer voluntary self-identification in their HR systems,” Brind-Woody suggests. “This allows companies to cross-reference those communities with things like their top talent lists. Once you have the self-identifier, companies can also see if people in any of these constituencies have been disproportionately impacted by layoffs or other actions. Companies should also be providing education on what it means to be an Ally to any of these groups, so that understanding and dialog are increased.”
Dr. Ming expands on being an Ally recommending it as a necessary must-have. “Having allies acting as role models for their fellow employees is one of the single most powerful tools for shifting culture within an organization. With allies inside and outside, the queer space, and across other traditionally marginalized groups, you can dramatically hasten change within your organization. Seeing another “regular” person modeling the right behavior and calling out sexism, racism, and other bad behavior is powerful.”
Words of Change and Optimism
Brind-Woody ends by encouraging those in the LGBTQ+ to, “Strive to live courageously, to promote justice and human rights - even if it is not easy. We must commit to make the way easier for those who come behind us.”
Leaving us with such incredible hope and optimism, Sudbury ends by saying, “Change is possible. It's like we've stepped out of the matrix. The way we work has changed, our routine has changed, and it's given us a moment to be reflective. Before they used to say working from home isn't possible but it actually it is. It's all possible. How we want to move forward as a society - that's up to all of us."