NEW YORK—Now more than ever, employees are embracing their sexual identities, both in and out of the workplace. And their peers are embracing them and their identity, at work and outside of work.

A recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 7 percent of Millennials identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual. In a separate question, 1 percent of respondents identified as transgender.

This is nearly double the number of adults who identify as LGBT in the general population, according to surveys conducted by Gallup in 2012 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013, which found that 3.4 percent of respondents identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or “something else.”

The Millennial generation is one of the most self-identifying and confident generations in our history. More and more employees are expressing their LGBT identity every year and, particularly with younger employees, it’s not even coming out, it’s just who they are and they feel comfortable being their authentic self and not having to declare it.

As the number of LGBT employees increases, it’s especially important to make sure your company provides and your employees know the policies and legal requirements associated with sexual orientation, and the resources that are available to them, whether they are community-based resources or resources you have established in your company.

Your goal as an employer is not simply to be legally compliant, you should want to make sure LGBT employees that work at your company feel they’re in a safe and enriching environment in addition to an environment of teamwork, challenges, rewards, recognition and all of the other areas that are so important to a growing, thriving and successful company.

Maintaining a welcoming environment is a top priority at Cisco Systems Inc. “You can come to work as yourself and Cisco is very adamantly in support of you being able to be yourself,” according to David Posner, a diversity and inclusion manager at Cisco.

The company has a Zero Tolerance policy for harassment or discrimination against LGBT employees, as indicated in firm, clear language in Cisco’s employee Code of Conduct. As well, human resources staff are trained to better understand LGBT concerns and address related issues with sensitivity.

While the exact number of LGBT employees is hard to measure, Posner said there has been a definite increase in the number of workers participating in Cisco’s LGBT employee resource group, with the group’s members increasing to almost 500 from under 300 in the last two and a half years.

For companies that seek to achieve Best in Class business practices and culture, and are committed to building a stronger support system for their LGBT employees, companies should identify a company leader who will serve as chief advocate, supported by other company leaders and the HR team. Doing so assures that this initiative is clear, has active and involved company leadership involvement, and is not a one-time effort. As well, it conveys the importance and determination of the most senior employees that equal employment and human dignity go hand and hand at work as well in life.

Hedley Lawson, Contributing Editor
Managing Partner
Aligned Growth Partners, LLC
(707) 217-0979
hlawson@alignedgrowth.com
www.alignedgrowth.com