Building an inclusive workplace: 5 tips you need to know

Pride Week is underway in P.E.I., and while Pride PEI has lots of events and entertainment scheduled, they also got down to business on Wednesday.

Members of the business community were invited to a seminar on how to be more inclusive to the LGBT community.

It was organized with the law firm McInnes Cooper, and attracted about three dozen employers, managers and human resources specialists.

McInnes Cooper also brought along some handy tips for building an inclusive workplace.

1. Educate yourself on the basics

"An employer doesn't need to know everything about the LGBTQ community, but it should have a basic understanding of terminology and of the big picture."

Knowing what transgender means, gender identification, transitioning, gender reassignment, and even LGBT is a good start.

"I went through the opportunity about a year-and-a-half ago of helping of one of my employees transition gender identities at a previous company and I think that it was a learning experience for me because it's not something you're prepared for," said RevIQ managing director John Kimmel, who attended the seminar.

"I learned a lot through the process and I think that they did as well, but ultimately it made us as a team and a company stronger and that was really valuable for us from an organizational transformation perspective."

2. Know your legal obligations

"Human rights legislation prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee," and that includes some pretty specific words about sexual identity, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

It also means making sure policies for things like washrooms and dress codes aren't discriminatory.

"You could have one that absolutely did not intend to be discriminatory, but could have discriminatory consequences particularly for, perhaps, the transgender community where you have individuals who are identifying as different genders and may not fit so easily inside the traditional dress code policy," said lawyer Kiersten Amos.

See the P.E.I. Human Rights Act, section 1 (d) for more.

3. Implement - and visually support - an LGBT policy

If the policy is in place, potential employees from the community will feel comfortable applying.

If no such policy exists, many won't apply, which means a business misses out on some great candidates.

4. Assist in workplace communications

"Promoting a diverse and harassment-free workplace can set a positive tone," according to the tips.

"To have policies and visibly support them, so it's not just good enough to have them," Amos said.

"You should put your money where your mouth is and make sure that if you have a policy, you're using the policy, you're educating the policy."

In other words, let's hear it from the top, and send the message to all staff.

5. Help educate

Yes, there might be concerns, discomfort, religious issues and other problems brought up by fellow employees when it comes to LGBT colleagues.

The employer should address their feelings and concerns with education and discussion, including information about legislation, policies and respect in the workplace.

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