We are happy to announce the launch of our Member Dashboard, your exclusive gateway to maximising your experience within our vibrant community. As valued members, your seamless interaction and engagement are paramount to us, and our dashboard is designed to cater to your unique needs.
The Member Dashboard offers many tailored resources, toolkits, event highlights, learning modules, and member exchanges, all designed specifically with you in mind. You will find everything you need to enhance your participation and make the most out of your membership.
To access your Member Dashboard, simply log in using your member-only login details. These are currently being rolled out over the next few weeks. Once logged in, you will be greeted with a wealth of opportunities to learn, and grow within our community.
We are excited to embark on this journey with you and look forward to seeing you thrive within our community through the use of your Member Dashboard.
Welcome to your enhanced membership experience!
Tech@Workplace Pride organise company visit to discuss “Out@Work”
On the 19th of September, Workplace Pride members were cordially invited to partake in a company visit to Eaton in Hengelo. Strategically coinciding with Coming Out Day on October 11th, the visit brought together participants from diverse tech companies for a deep discussion on the theme “Out@Work.”
Exploring Company Visits
The Tech@Workplace Pride community, as outlined in their 2023 strategic goals, has set a range of objectives. Notably, one of these objectives is to orchestrate visits to LGBTIQ+ communities within tech companies. The aim is to engage in fruitful conversations about the most effective Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) practices, while also incorporating an online participation dimension. Through these visits, Tech@Workplace Pride aspires to enhance visibility, shedding light on the remarkable diversity and inclusivity within the tech sector.
Connecting with Operational Staff
Initial steps towards achieving these goals were taken during the Workplace Pride conference on May 26th of this year. A follow-up initiative was launched during a member exchange session, seeking to bridge the gap in LGBTIQ+ inclusion between operational and office staff. The recent visit to Eaton facilitated fresh insights into efforts to align LGBTIQ+ activities with the production floor.
Journey Through the Production Floor
The visit began with an insightful “We Make PRIDE Work” introduction led by Eugén Ranft, Managing Director at Eaton Industries Netherlands B.V., and Barış Ekici, EMEA leader of the Eaton PRIDE iERG. Participants, dressed in safety gear, were divided into two groups to explore the production floor, gaining valuable insights into Eaton’s products and their dedicated creators.
Interactive Workshop: The visit culminated in an engaging workshop led by Marco Strijks, Liaison Office Diversity & Inclusion from Th!nk with PRIDE/Saxion University of Applied Sciences, and Renan Machado Cardoso, Global Inclusion and Diversity Project Lead at Eaton. The discussion revolved around three pivotal statements, seeking innovative solutions to pertinent challenges.
In Closing
“Out@Work”, organised by Tech@Workplace Pride, stood as a testament to the community’s unwavering commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion within the tech sector.
About Eaton: Eaton, an intelligent power management company, is devoted to enhancing the quality of life and safeguarding the environment worldwide.
A Rainbow Flag Alone is Not Enough: Companies Embrace Inclusive Policies for LGBTIQ+ Employees
In the past, displaying a rainbow flag during Pride was seen as sufficient support for the LGBTIQ+ community within a company. However, times have changed, and the need for genuine inclusion and acceptance has become paramount. Recognising this, companies are taking proactive steps to create a welcoming environment for their LGBTIQ+ employees.
Michiel Kolman, co-chairman of Workplace Pride, experienced the lack of conscious policies for LGBTIQ+ inclusivity in workplaces decades ago. Today, Workplace Pride, based in Amsterdam but with a global reach, works to encourage companies to embrace diversity and ensure that all employees, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, feel valued and at home.
Over the last 15 years, large multinationals were among the first to respond to the need for specific policies aimed at LGBTIQ+ individuals. These policies encompass a range of initiatives, including combating discrimination, implementing inclusive language, providing gender-neutral facilities, and offering confidential advisers for LGBTIQ+ employees.
However, implementing these policies is not always a smooth journey, and progress varies across industries and sectors. In the legal profession, for instance, the interests of LGBTIQ+ individuals may not always be a top priority. Chris Noordam, chairman of the FORWARD Foundation, advocates for acceptance, recognition, and visibility of LGBTIQ+ people within the legal sector.
Noordam explains that diversity and inclusivity must become the norm, just like any other facility provided for employees. FORWARD started its efforts in prominent offices, particularly in Amsterdam, and now aims to extend these policies to the rest of the UK.
Developing and implementing inclusive policies is an ongoing process that may take around ten years to complete. To gauge progress, Workplace Pride conducts an annual benchmark study to evaluate companies and government institutions on various inclusion-related points.
According to Michiel Kolman, this emphasis on inclusivity has become a crucial aspect for companies, universities, and government institutions. Participating in the benchmark study and scoring well reflects how seriously organisations view the subject of LGBTIQ+ inclusivity.
Companies that genuinely prioritise their LGBTIQ+ employees reap rewards beyond just compliance. Embracing inclusivity makes them more attractive employers, as individuals seek workplaces where they can feel genuinely seen, heard, and accepted.
As the global landscape evolves, more organisations are recognising the significance of creating a truly inclusive environment, signalling a positive shift towards a more inclusive and accepting world for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Thank you to everyone who joined and participated in today’s Member Exchange Session. As we did not track the actual participants, we are sending this to all our member contacts who were included in the invitation to the session. If others in your organization participated, please feel free to share this with them.
We had more than 80 participants and there were still 68 on the line at the end of the call, so we know that this topic was important to many of our members.
Special thanks go to our presenters for their impactful stories:
Ben Bolt (ISS) Sterre Mkatini (University of Twente) Nino Cilona (Shell)
Here is a high-level summary of some of the key points:
Allies or another more neutral third-party can step in and respond in a more objective and less personal and emotional way to empower the community. Knowing where to find this support is key.
Avoid the “knee-jerk” reaction – Damage control by removing the offending post should be an option, but if you have strong support in the responses – you may not want to pull it too quickly.
Plan ahead – anticipate the situation where negative comments come in and have a support plan in place for where affected individuals can reach out for help.
Educate your employees about psychological safety to foster inclusive culture. While you can capture everything in policy, a listening and respectful attitude in an organization is the basis for safety. Management and HR play a role in facilitating this. Consider embedding this in your code of conduct. Plan for dealing with other employees who are threatening – e.g. through intervention via their line management.
Build support from the top of the organization – know to what extent you have the support of your organization specifically leadership, HR and communications are important.. When there is an incident, call on that support to have the organization (leaders) make a clear statement of organization’s position and how that is not in line with the negative comment. Turn the incident to an opportunity to share your organizational values.
Consider the location in your response – the Rome/Embassy model can define what level of support you can expect from leadership in different countries or regions. Depending on whether the location is a ‘when in Rome’, and ‘embassy’ or a ‘advocacy’ location helps you know how leaders can respond in support.
Intersectionality – examples shared show that this goes beyond LGBTIQ+ and that there is more education to be done to point out hostile situations that women, the trans community, allies are also exposed to.
The link to the recording is below – please feel free to share with others within your organization. This is one of the benefits that Workplace Pride offers to our members, so we ask that you not share the recording and summary outside of your organization.
The following sessions topics and presenters are still being planned. We have planned dates and time to try to flex the time slots to be more friendly to other time zones (see below – note these times are Central European Tim)). We will send an invitation for the next session as soon as we have more details worked out.
We held our first Member Exchange Session on March 15 on the topic of Creating a Transgender Policy, and we would like all our members to have access to what we learned from this session, here are the most important metrics, takeaways, and the link to the recording of the session.
42 people attended
>80% of attendees joined to learn
>60% of respondents either have no Trans policy or are just getting started
96% of respondents learned something that will help them and found the session a good use of their time.
Key takeaways:
Get sponsorship from the top – it’s “good to have HR or DEI officer intrinsically motivated” so that they be visible in their support and help you get the time and resources needed. Research shows that 1.2% – 1.5% of the population is transgender – even if no one has come out in your org, data says that they are likely there but in the closet.
Learn what is needed and educate your stakeholders – “don’t assume you know”, connect with the Trans community in your org or with a Trans CSO/organization to learn (Workplace Pride L&D, Corporate Queer, Transvisie as NL examples). Let ERG educate the business about what is needed and why. Create a guiding document that helps everyone understand what is needed to support Trans people in the workplace.
Make it practical and take concrete steps – taking on a whole policy may be daunting, focus on smaller steps like “what it needed to change gender and name in IT systems” or “get the required medical procedures for transitioning added to health insurance benefits – either private or government depending on location”.
Location/region-specific assessments – looking at what medical and health benefits are covered will differ by location. What you as an organization need to do will depend on how much is already covered by the government or social structures in a location. There is no known resource of which countries/locations cover which aspects, you will need to do that work with your local Benefits team.
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