This is Pride Month – an additional time to focus on honouring and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community. We know this year it carries a different weight for many. The recent Supreme Court judgement defining “woman” in narrowly biological terms has left trans and non-binary folks feeling uncertain, excluded, vulnerable, and at risk, including within the workplace.
Our celebration of Pride must go beyond rainbow logos and surface-level support. It must be rooted in genuine understanding, inclusion, and active allyship. Now more than ever, it’s essential that we create workplaces where all identities are respected, protected, and empowered. Inclusion is not a trend. It has to be a commitment and action.
Let’s stand together – not just for this month but always – in celebration and solidarity.
Here are 20 ways to support LGBTQ+ colleagues in your workplace:
1. Educate Yourself – Take the time to learn about LGBTQ+ experiences, terms, and history to better understand your LGBTQ+ colleagues.
2. Acknowledge Intersectionality – Recognise the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ+ community, including race, gender, and disability.
3. Use Inclusive Language – Where possible, use gender-neutral language and always respect preferred pronouns.
4. Promote Policies – Advocate for and support policies that protect LGBTQ+ employees from discrimination and harassment.
5. Celebrate Diversity – Recognise and celebrate LGBTQ+ events, such as Pride Month, to show support, be an ally and raise awareness.
6. Offer Training – Provide training sessions on equity, diversity and inclusion for all employees, to support active allyship.
7. Create Safe Spaces – Ensure that the workplace is a welcoming and safe space, where all employees can feel comfortable.
8. Zero Tolerance Policy – Implement and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and harassment against LGBTQ+ colleagues.
9. Mentorship Programmes – Establish mentorship programmes that include LGBTQ+ mentors and mentees.
10. Recruit Inclusively – Intentionally recruit a diverse workforce through inclusive job postings and by sharing opportunities with LGBTQ+ groups.
11. Gender Neutral Facilities – Support the availability of gender-neutral toilets and individual changing rooms, if required.
12. Support Transitions – Offer support for employees undergoing gender transition, and address them by their new name, if they’ve chosen one.
13. Be Visible – Show your support actively year-round, by wearing Pride symbols, lanyards, displaying posters or participating in LGBTQ+ events.
14. Leadership Support – Hold leadership accountable to being visibly supportive of LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives.
15. Mental Health Support – Provide access to mental health resources that are more aligned and sensitive to LGBTQ+ folks and their needs.
16. Encourage Open Dialogue – Foster an environment where open and respectful conversations are encouraged.
17. Support ERGs – Encourage the formation of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for LGBTQ+ employees and participate in their events.
18. Feedback Channels – Create anonymous feedback mechanisms to voice concerns and suggest improvements.
19. Provide Resources – Make available resources such as counselling services and support groups for LGBTQ+ employees.
20. Measure and Improve – Regularly assess and evaluate your inclusivity efforts through surveys and data analysis.
To truly stand in solidarity, we must recognise that the experiences of LGBTQ+ folks are not uniform. Factors like race, disability, gender identity, and socioeconomic status intersect in ways that shape how we each experience inclusion – or exclusion – at work. These intersections also influence how power and privilege are distributed, often granting some voices more visibility and safety than others.
Without an intersectional lens, even the most well-intentioned inclusion efforts risk reinforcing existing inequalities and leaving the most marginalised behind
True LGBTQ+ inclusion requires us to actively consider how overlapping identities impact access, opportunity, and belonging – and to respond with empathy, equity, and action, whilst leaning into the justice lens and focused on the root cause of systemic inequalities.
~ Inclusive Recruiting powering Inclusive Workplaces
Continued conversations nurture better understanding and allyship. We can help you facilitate these conversations. Sign your team up today for our EDI Dialogues bite-sized inclusion workshops.
