Preston Smith
We at Fuzzable are avid supporters of everyone, especially the LGBT+ community. The community faces a myriad of problems, a lot of which are institutional, and action always needs to be taken to ensure the safety and improvement of conditions for LGBT+ individuals, especially in the workplace.
This notion of protecting the LGBT+ community may sound strange as capitalism itself is a deep-rooted enemy for marginalized groups. But here we mean that businesses should protect and support LGBT+ individuals as employees, not as consumers.
This distinction is important because if the consumer aspect is the sole focus of LGBT+ activism in corporate culture, then no progress will have been made for those that have been oppressed by capitalism itself. However, if the opposite narrative is true, and businesses begin empowering LGBT+ individuals not only as creatives and builders but also as individuals, progress can hopefully be forged in contemporary representation and workplace respect.
Website Planet has published an article on exactly this. The guide discusses the aforementioned need for LGBT+ voices in the workplace and is topical, as it makes the clear the need for year-round voices as opposed to the representation only in specific times such as June, which is LGBT+ Pride Month. If active support is offered year-round, Website Planet notes, people will feel more comfortable working with your business. One can never have too may allies, after all.
You can view the full guide here but here are some brief highlights from throughout:
- Sensitive communication is key in the workplace. This can mean a number of things, from asking for people’s pronouns to always educating oneself on LGBT+ social issues to help one connect with one’s peers/coworkers.
- While similar to prior points, businesses can go out of their way to advertise themselves as safe spaces for LGBT+ individuals. Furthermore, they can back this claim up should something arise, including banning patrons who act/speak with hate.
- If the management of a business is not LGBT+, they should accept feedback from those who are openly and welcome it as a way to continuously improve.
- When using social media or email marketing, businesses should do plenty of research before marketing to the masses to ensure that their messages are concise and do not contain anything harmful to this population.
This is just a few things businesses can go to ensure that they are being completely open to the LGBT+ population. While these may sound extremely simple and straightforward, some businesses could definitely benefit from reading this guide and actively working toward a better, safer future for every LGBT+ person. That is our hope, at least. The full guide can be found here.
What changes would you like to see made in corporate culture? Tweet us @Fuzzable with all of your opinions because we would love to see them and support every one of you!
