{"id":21727,"date":"2024-06-21T14:51:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T14:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=21727"},"modified":"2024-06-21T14:59:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T14:59:43","slug":"top-tips-for-supporting-the-lgbtq-community-year-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/top-tips-for-supporting-the-lgbtq-community-year-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Top tips for supporting the LGBTQ+ community year-round"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Pride Month! Truly inclusive companies do what they can to support their LGBTQ+ employees all year round, not just in June.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than virtue signalling or \u2018rainbow washing\u2019 on social media with posts vaguely talking about how much your company supports the LGBTQ+ community, now is the time to review your hiring policies and make sure you\u2019re walking the walk, not simply talking the talk. And remember, Pride is a year-long initiative and not just for June.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our rundown on creating an inclusive environment, starting with your job postings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing LGBTQ+ inclusive job postings<\/span><\/h2>\n

Be mindful of language in your job ads; as the old adage goes, the pen is mightier than the sword. Don\u2019t make gender identity assumptions in a job ad. Avoid using \u2018he\u2019 or \u2018she\u2019 in a job description and opt instead for \u2018they\u2019 or \u2018you\u2019. Similarly, words like \u2018guys\u2019 or \u2018girls\u2019 can be alienating to transgender or non-binary applicants and are best avoided.<\/span><\/p>\n

This also rings true when considering the job title itself. Avoid gendered titles such as \u2018postman\u2019 or \u2018waitress\u2019, opting for neutral terms in their place. Check, check, and check again!<\/span><\/p>\n

Another top tip is to take care of the personality descriptors used. Words like \u2018confident\u2019 or \u2018assertive\u2019 are shown to be male-biased and may put off applicants who don\u2019t consider themselves to fit. Similarly, words like \u2018support\u2019 are female-biased. Always opt for a neutral, non-gendered language where possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth explicitly showing your support for the LGBTQ+ community with an inclusion statement within your job ad too, as well as showcasing any community groups on your careers page. Being as visible as possible in supporting LGBTQ+ candidates will help attract top talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prepping for an interview<\/span><\/h2>\n

So you\u2019ve created an LGBTQ+ friendly job ad, and candidates are flooding into your inbox. How can you ensure the rest of the hiring process is inclusive?<\/span><\/p>\n

Our first tip is to consider using pronouns. Giving applicants the chance to clarify their pronouns so any interviewees can address them appropriately signals your commitment to inclusivity. Always clarify – don\u2019t assume that someone female presenting wants to be addressed as she\/her, or vice versa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If conducting a virtual interview, go one step further by asking everyone on the call to add their pronouns next to their names\u2014and make sure to use them correctly. Again, it is really important to be inclusive to non-binary or transgender applicants and shows that a company is taking steps to be an active ally to the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your pre-interview communications include dress code guidance, ensure this is inclusive, too. Rather than breaking down appropriate attire into lists of garments for males and females, simply list what clothes would be deemed acceptable, regardless of gender.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Make LGBTQ+ voices visible<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re doing great things to support your LGBTQ+ employees, make them visible on your hiring pages. This could include video interviews of them sharing their \u201cPride\u201d in working for your organisation, events and training, and clear signals that you\u2019re LGBTQ+ friendly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When hiring, your employees are your greatest asset, so make them your ambassadors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, Pride isn\u2019t just in the month of June, so employees shouldn\u2019t just be showcased once a year, they should be present in your team and celebrated every single day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Policies to consider<\/span><\/h2>\n

Beyond the job ad and the interview, it\u2019s worth also considering policies to support the LGBTQ+ community and ensure members can thrive within your company. That could be expanding parental leave to include support for adoptive leave or ensuring health benefits for LGBTQ+ employees, such as gender-affirming care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just be inclusive; be anti-discriminatory. That means setting up processes to define acceptable behaviour and including these guidelines in your employee handbook. You should also set out responses to discriminatory behaviour and offer advice on how to report unacceptable situations with clients or customers. Make sure LGBTQ+ employees know who to turn to for support should they need it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, all staff should receive unconscious bias training to educate colleagues on acceptable behaviour, their biases, and the importance of being allies to underrepresented groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" Read more: Adzuna asks: How can organisations be LGBTQ+ inclusive?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A final checklist of red flags to address:<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Gendered language or job titles\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Not asking for pronouns<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. No employee handbook defining expectations for behaviour<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. No company-wide unconscious bias training<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Not knowing who to turn to for support<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you want to do more, let Pride Month be your sign to review your hiring processes for the LGBTQ+ community. What are other ideas for supporting and attracting LGBTQ+ staff? Let us know!<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    \"\"\u00a0Read more: How to spot a diverse and inclusive employer (and the posers)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Happy Pride Month! Truly inclusive companies do what they can to support their LGBTQ+ employees all year round, not just in June.\u00a0 Rather than virtue signalling or \u2018rainbow washing\u2019 on social media with posts vaguely talking about how much your company supports the LGBTQ+ community, now is the time to review your hiring policies and Continued \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":21738,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1015,902],"tags":[1112],"class_list":["post-21727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diversity-inclusion","category-recruitment","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21727"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21741,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21727\/revisions\/21741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}