What is social inclusion?
Promoting an environment of social inclusion means implementing practices to welcome individuals who have historically been excluded from society: black people, indigenous people, people with disabilities, low-income people and the LGBTQI+ community are some of these examples.
How to include the LGBTQI+ community in corporate environments?
A survey showed that 38% of industries and companies have restrictions on hiring LGBTQI+ people. To help change this scenario, we first need to start within our own corporate world. Giving a voice to contributors and the LGBTQI+ community and its supporters will help you understand how to contribute.
Cynthia Franco, Corporate Sustainability Consultant at Cushman & Wakefield, uses practices adopted by the company as an example: ''a group of collaborators focused on gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and supporters of the LGBTQ+ cause is important to build an inclusive culture in which everyone feel respected, recognized and encouraged to bring their contributions to the work''.
Cynthia also explains that to be a member of Cushman & Wakefield's LGBTQ+ affinity group it is necessary for the employee to be engaged in developing the group, available to participate in meetings and to take a stand on the group's mission when communicating with other colleagues. No need to identify yourself as LGBTQ+ to participate, community allies are welcome.
In addition, there is also another important factor: the economic. People who feel comfortable and accepted in the workplace tend to be more engaged and productive, which leads to better results: ''by creating a diverse and inclusive environment with people who bring new perspectives and drive innovation and competitive advantage, everyone wins,'' says Cynthia.
In addition to the group for debate and organization of actions, other ideas can also be implemented in the corporation's day-to-day activities:
• Allow the employee to indicate their gender pronoun in the email signature: this attitude helps to promote respect for gender identity
• Promote newsletters and events: raise awareness of the topic, reinforce the company's inclusive culture, clarify points and promote synergy
• Extinguish gender specification in job vacancies: despite not being legal, gender distinction is still quite common in the labor market.
What is important is that all actions suggested and implemented have the purpose of strengthening mutual respect and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
