This year, 23 states have introduced anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and 13 states have signed discriminatory bills into law, according to data from the Human Rights Campaign.
These acts, which include denying gender-affirming healthcare, imposing restrictions on what bathrooms and locker rooms people use, and banning classroom discussions on gender identity, have proven to be traumatic and heartbreaking for individuals and families across the United States.
Against such a grim backdrop, October 11th serves as a particularly important marker this year. Since the late 1980s, this day has been recognized as National Coming Out Day, a time for celebration, awareness and action. While the LGBTQIA+ community remains resilient, there’s much work to be done to ensure every member feels able to be themselves.
A big piece of fighting for equality means that anyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, can experience psychological safety at work. As it stands, 46 percent of LGBTQ employees have experienced discrimination at their jobs at least once in their professional careers, according to a study by the Willliams Institute.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, many companies are actively building cultures where LGBTQIA+ employees not only feel safe coming to work but can find community, support and advocacy from their employers and peers.
To find out the most meaningful steps companies can take to ensure inclusion and belonging for LGBTQIA+ team members, Built In NYC connected with two local companies: Unqork and Talkspace. Together, they outlined the policies, resources and groups they’ve built to ensure an environment where everyone feels empowered to show up to work each day as their authentic selves.
What resources, benefits and programs do you have in place to support LGBTQIA+ employees?
We have a robust roadmap of programs that are led by the company and employees. On the company side, Unqork provides us with equitable parental leave, access to proper healthcare services, a monthly stipend that can be applied to donations of your choice, and much more.
From the employee side, I run our LGBTQ+ employee resource group, where we are paid for our efforts in our role of leading the ERG. Our group is also given a healthy budget that allows us to host programs, bring in speakers, participate in industry networks and beyond. Within the company, we’ve fostered a robust LGBTQ+ and ally network where anyone in the company can join our Slack channel to chat, share tips, learn about events and collaborate.
I run our LGBTQ+ employee resource group, where we are paid for our efforts in our role of leading the ERG.”
How do you work with LGBTQIA+ employees to ensure they feel heard, supported and included?
As president of Unqork the Spectrum, our LGBTQ+ and ally employee resource group, we’re always asking our colleagues what content would be helpful and engaging. I would categorize the efforts in several buckets: programming and education, outreach and career advancement.
For programming and education, we’ve hosted several events, like a speaker session for Bi+ Visibility Day, where we educated folks on the broad terminology and identities present. We’ve also had sessions with experts in the field, including a startup founder at a law firm, to discuss gender markers on identification documents, the impact of existing processes and systems on Trans+ individuals and how technology can improve the experience of all individuals.
On outreach, we are heavily focused on incorporating the ally community and have created a broader ally network, so we can provide tools for them to practice active allyship. For career advancement, we aim to engage LGBTQ+ role models and have had speakers, such as the CIO of J Crew Danielle Schmelkin, join us to share expertise and answer questions from employees. More broadly, we have an open door policy with our entire ERG leadership team.
Externally, how does your company support the LGBTQIA+ community?
This year, we kicked off our first team for Cycle for the Cause, a 275-mile bike ride from Boston to New York City. Cycle for the Cause raises funds and awareness for the HIV/AIDS services of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. This year, we raised over $20,000 for The Center. We’re extremely proud of our first year’s fundraising success and are excited to keep the momentum for 2023’s ride!
What resources, benefits and programs do you have in place to support LGBTQIA+ employees?
For all employees, we offer free Talkspace therapy. We also offer diverse wellness programming and companywide events hosted by internal employees, therapists and members of the community.
Last year, we launched a health and wellness stipend program that highlighted and supported LGBTQIA+ businesses and employees.”
How do you work with LGBTQIA+ employees to ensure they feel heard, supported and included in the workplace?
At Talkspace, we strive to be open and inclusive in our practices. We encourage folks to share their pronouns in our human resources information system, as well as on Zoom and Slack. Last year, we launched a health and wellness stipend program that highlighted and supported LGBTQIA+ businesses and employees. We have also partnered with our event vendors to throw events hosted by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, we offer mental health days every summer to help our employees do their best work.
