Thu 20 April 2023
Be a Better Ally to Your LGBTQ+ Colleagues
Workplace discrimination and exclusion remain significant challenges for many workers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+). As a colleague, how can you move past performative allyship and toward the real thing? It requires three simple but powerful steps.
(1) Be accepting.
Acceptance is the foundation of authentic allyship. Your language, demeanor, and behaviors need to demonstrate that you accept and validate LGBTQ+ individuals’ gender and/or sexual identities.
(2) Take action.
Acceptance is insufficient without actions to back it up. Seek out opportunities to learn more about LGBTQ+ issues, both in your workplace and your broader community. And speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, whether it takes the form of interpersonal bias (e.g., a coworker making an offensive comment) or systemic bias (e.g., a workplace dress code that discriminates against gender-queer individuals).
(3) Have humility.
Listen more than you speak, and keep the focus off of yourself in discussions of LGBTQ+ issues. To develop a deeper humility, ask yourself: When issues of diversity and inclusion come up in the workplace, am I truly listening, or am I more interested in managing others’ impressions of me?
This tip is adapted from “Research: How to Be a Better Ally to the LGBTQ+ Community,” by Jacqueline M. Chen and Samantha Joel
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