Accelerating Acceptance

5 Ways to Examine LGBTQ+ Intersectionality in the Workplace.

Every year in June, businesses celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month, showcasing the contributions of LGBTQ+ employees, raising awareness of issues in the community, and providing resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). By celebrating the occasion, you can recognize your LGBTQ+ employees and encourage them to continue their education and allyship.

This Pride Month, examine your business for inclusive and equitable policies, practices, products, services, and communications. Here is a checklist for your analysis:

  • Do you follow laws that protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination?
  • Does your organization have policies prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals?
  • Are you using inclusive language in your internal and external communications?
  • What role does intersectionality play in your commitment to LGBTQ+ issues?
  • Are employees able to self-identify as LGBTQ+, select non-binary pronouns and salutations, and list preferred names on your HR or employee-facing software?

During LGBTQ+ Pride Month, it is important to acknowledge, respect, and celebrate LGBTQ+ people, but it is also important to ensure policies, practices, products, and services include and accommodate intersectional realities. It’s a great time to discuss these feelings with experts and seek guidance if analyzing your business this way seems unfamiliar, overwhelming, or uncomfortable.

“During LGBTQ+ Pride Month, it is important to acknowledge, respect, and celebrate LGBTQ+ people, but it is also important to ensure policies, practices, products, and services include and accommodate intersectional realities.”

Kal Gajraj

This Pride Month, we should celebrate data-driven initiatives that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ people throughout the year. By using this analysis, managers, supervisors, and practitioners can ensure that LGBTQ+ employees are embraced, and they can improve diversity & inclusion, hiring, retention, perks, and benefits for LGBTQ+ workers.

Kal Gajraj is a Miami/Fort Lauderdale-based communications and brand strategist. He has two decades of marketing and public relations experience, including B2C and B2B focuses. He is a certified diversity professional and human rights consultant with the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights aiming to help organizations and people leaders towards communicating inclusively and accelerating acceptance. Kal is also an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College’s School of Global Business.

Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Prior to 2009, this observance was known as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. As part of the celebration, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans are recognized for their influence and contributions to the achievements and culture of our nation.

In the United States, we have a rich and diverse history, and it is important to celebrate that. It is believed that the first Japanese to arrive in North America was a young boy who arrived in October 1587 with a Franciscan friar. They were Filipinos who arrived in California. In the year 1778, Hawaii had the first documented Chinese immigrants. Samoans and Vietnamese also arrived in Hawaii between 1920 and 1912.

The idea of celebrating Asian Pacific Americans was first proposed to Representative Frank Horton in the 1970s by Jeanie Jew, a fourth-generation Chinese American who worked on Capitol Hill. In June 1977, Horton introduced a resolution to the House of Representatives with the assistance of Norman Y. Mineta to recognize the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate just a month later. By signing a joint resolution on October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter made the then-weeklong celebration official. In 1990, George H.W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress that designated May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

“Our country was founded by immigrants, and many of us have ancestors who came here to achieve the American Dream and a better life for themselves and their families.”

Kal Gajraj

Our country was founded by immigrants, and many of us have ancestors who came here to achieve the American Dream and a better life for themselves and their families. In addition to their hard work, ideas, and creations, Asian American immigrants and Pacific Islanders also contribute significantly to our economy. By celebrating their rich cultures, we better understand diversity and how they have strengthened our communities. It is through celebrations that healthy dialogue between races can be maintained.

Kal Gajraj is a Miami/Fort Lauderdale-based communications and brand strategist. He has two decades of marketing and public relations experience, including B2C and B2B focuses. He is a certified diversity professional with experience in healthcare, performing arts, education, and retail. Kal is currently an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College’s School of Global Business.

Communicating Inclusively

Creating an inclusive workplace involves more than hiring people from different backgrounds, it means creating a culture that includes everyone on your team. Creating an open and safe company culture where people communicate respectfully, different viewpoints and contributions are valued, and everyone feels involved is crucial. 

Inclusion creates an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, where different groups’ talents and skills are valued, and productivity and customer service improve because employees are happier, more motivated, and more aware of the benefits that inclusion can bring.

The key to embracing diversity and inclusion in the workplace is to get employee commitment. When your employees are committed, they’ll be open to examining their behavior.

  • Understand social biases: Whether you are a business owner, manager, or team member, you should examine your behavior and assumptions. A typical response is for people to be defensive and say they are not biased. You can provide professional guidance, training, and tools that can help your team members identify the source of their biases, as well as how to move past them. It is easier to remove negative feelings if people are properly trained. They automatically think they are being told they are bad people. 
  • Create employee resource groups (ERGs): Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are employees who want to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. They support career development and wellness of group members by focusing on a particular characteristic, like gender or ethnicity. Employee resource groups create a safe space and connect marginalized groups. Allies may join to learn from and support their colleagues. 
  • Develop a diverse team: Diversifying your team involves hiring people with different backgrounds. Employees will get to know people from different backgrounds, and they will be exposed to different perspectives. You can also improve the company culture and address the workplace gender gap by having a diverse team.

“Creating an inclusive culture starts with stating your commitment to diversity in your mission statement.”

Kal Gajraj

Keeping employees happy and satisfied is also a big factor in the success of inclusive workplaces. Having a range of policies and facilities in place to ensure that all employees can balance work with other aspects of their lives has a positive impact on job satisfaction, productivity, and commitment, leading to positive outcomes for their health and well-being.

Kal Gajraj is a Miami/Fort Lauderdale-based communications and brand strategist. He has two decades of marketing and public relations experience, including B2C and B2B focuses. He is a certified diversity professional with experience in healthcare, performing arts, education, and retail. Kal is currently an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College’s School of Global Business.