Leading the way in inclusion

After only 18 months, Pride in Diversity is making headway with LGBT workplace inclusion with more than 30 Australian organisations signed on to its employer support program.

It also launched the Australian Workplace Equality Index — a comprehensive index that delves into an organisation’s HR policies, staff benefits, LGBT network groups, training, bullying and harassment policies and community engagement to ensure equity, inclusion and engagement of LGBT employees.

Organisations were required to submit comprehensive evidence to show they were actively engaged in creating LGBT-inclusive environments where people could be themselves and where any homophobic bullying, harassment or discrimination would not be tolerated.

Participation was encouraged even for organisations just starting with their LGBT inclusion initiatives as it provided a tool by which to measure current practice, provided strategy support for current inclusion initiatives and a benchmark to gauge future progress.

In its first year, 23 organisations participated in the index, with submissions graded by markers against a standard developed in conjunction with the Diversity Champions Program (Stonewall UK) to fit the Australian market.

The top 10 of these organisations were acknowledged at the Pride in Diversity annual business luncheon and awards as a Top 10 AWEI Employer 2011 on May 17. An index publication was developed showcasing these employers and some of their practices along with some local benchmarking data on inclusion scores. Awards were presented by Pride in Diversity patron, the Hon Michael Kirby with guest speaker, Olympic diver and Telstra Sporting Ambassador Matthew Mitcham.

The first annual Pride in Diversity Pride in Practice LGBT Workplace Conference is on November 29. It is designed to showcase some of the top 10 AWEI award-winners, providing HR managers, diversity managers, LGBT employee network groups and supporters with examples of initiatives designed to make workplaces more inclusive. Leaders from the top six LGBT employee network groups will speak alongside a keynote speaker from the Employer of the Year.

Conference details and registration can be found on the PID Events page on the Pride in Diversity website.

With many employees still feeling like they need to hide a part of who they are at work and with the known impact this can have on health and wellbeing, there is still a lot of work to do. However, more and more employers are realising the importance of creating an inclusive workplace culture where everybody can be themselves.

For more information on the Pride in Diversity Program, the Conference or AWEI, please call Dawn Hough on (02) 9206 2136.