Deloitte Survey Highlights Impact of LGBTQ Inclusion in the Workplace

LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace is at its highest during Pride month. June is when most offices are decked up in the colors of the rainbow and LGTBQ employee well-being becomes top priority.

In a Deloitte study, most of the respondents admitted that organizations are prioritizing LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace and that it is having a positive impact. Deloitte’s inaugural LGBT+ Inclusion @ Work: A Global Outlook survey identifies best practices that promote LGBTQ diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace, along with roadblocks and why it is important to build LGBTQ friendly workplaces.

The Deloitte survey revealed that companies showing external support for LGBTQ make for inclusive workplaces.

The survey was conducted in across 12 geographies and a range of sectors and involved 600 respondents. The financial services firm hopes to provide a snapshot of LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace and its impact with this study.

According to the survey, nearly 80% of the respondents mentioned that their employers have introduced LGBTQ inclusion actions and initiatives, with nearly 95% of them believing that this has led to meaningful support towards ensuring LGBTQ employee well-being. A majority of the respondents stated that ally ship made them feel comfortable at the workplace. Visible use of pronouns, employee resource groups (ERGs), and having allies support LGBTQ networks, made employees feel psychological safe about being out at work.

Ninety-three percent of respondents who work for global organizations believe that organization-level communications and actions around LGBT+ inclusion are translating into meaningful support in their home countries. However, many choose not to divulge their sexual orientation to their colleagues.

“It has been encouraging to see a focus on LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace,” says Michele Parmelee, Deloitte Global Deputy CEO and Chief People and Purpose Officer. “However, the survey has also shown us that more needs to be done. Looking ahead as companies build future-ready organizations, it will be incumbent upon leaders and colleagues to focus on three critical elements to promote LGBT+ inclusion: enabling employees to feel comfortable being out at work, creating an environment where non-inclusive behavior is not tolerated, and leveraging visible and vocal allyship.”

While the majority reported feelings of inclusivity, nearly four in ten respondents admitted that they have faced non-inclusive behaviors at work. Non-inclusive behaviors ranged from outright sexist jokes to subtler behaviors like being socially sidelined. Nearly three-fourth of employees who faced such behaviors reported them to their employees, and six of 10 admitted that they were satisfied with the action taken.

On June 15, the American president signed an executive order expanding access to gender affirming care and inclusive education, in an effort to combat a number anti-LGBTQ state bills introduced across the country this year. A June survey by LinkedIn and YouGov, three-quarters 75% of LGBTQ respondents said it’s important that they work at a company where they feel comfortable expressing their identity, and 65% said they would leave their current job if they felt they could not do so. For people in the sexual minority, LGBTQ diversity and inclusion in the workplace made them feel safe. Nearly 50% of the respondents of the LinkedIn survey admitted that the recent anti-LGBTQ legislation in the country has affected their mental health.

The Deloitte survey also discovered that LGBTQ employees who have not faced non-inclusive behaviors at work are nearly twice as likely to plan to stay for more than five years in their current roles than their LGBT+ colleagues who have faced such behaviors (30% vs.16%). Companies can show support for LGBTQ employees by implementing strict harassment policies and by promoting inclusive behaviors, with training on how to deal with things sensitively.