Why it is important
LGBTIQ+ discrimination in the workplace is a major issue. One in ten Australians in the workforce identifies as LGBTIQ+. And according to Indeed data, almost half (44%) of working age LGBTIQ+ Australians report either having personally experienced or witnessed discrimination in the workplace.
Managers may believe that they either do not have any LGBTIQ+ employees or that their organisation does not have an issue with discrimination. However, it is important to be aware that it can be an invisible issue. More than six in ten (63%) LGBTIQ+ workers do not feel comfortable coming out at work. This indicates that many organisations may be failing to create psychologically safe workplaces in which LGBTIQ+ employees feel that they can be their authentic selves.
Discrimination can have negative impacts on both the affected employee and the organisation. It can lead to disengagement, lower wellbeing, and lower performance and productivity, which can subsequently impact the individual’s working relationships and career progression. But fortunately, there are actions you can take to help prevent discrimination in the workplace.
Understanding your legal obligations
An important part of avoiding LGBTIQ+ discrimination is learning about the legal anti-discrimination framework. In Australia, different federal and state and territory laws contain discrimination protections for LGBTIQ+ people. It is worth carefully reviewing the following laws to work out how they may affect your workplace.
Important federal legislation
- The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA): The act makes it unlawful to treat people unfavourably because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. The SDA prohibits discrimination throughout the entire employment life cycle, from advertising a job to termination of employment.
- Fair Work Act 2009: This law prevents employers from taking any ‘adverse action’ against a person because of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status (among a range of other attributes). An adverse action can include things like dismissing an employee, refusing to employ someone, discriminating between employees, and adversely impacting an employee by changing their position.
State and territory anti-discrimination legislation
In addition to the federal laws, each state and territory has their own anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation containing protections against LGBTIQ+ discrimination in the workplace. There is quite a lot of overlap between federal and state and territory laws in terms of discrimination protections. However, both apply to your workplace, so it is important to carefully review both sets of laws to find out what your anti-discrimination obligations are. Here is a list of the relevant state and territory laws.
- Australian Capital Territory: Discrimination Act 1991
- New South Wales: Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
- Northern Territory: Anti-Discrimination Act 1992
- Queensland: Anti-Discrimination Act 1991
- South Australia: Equal Opportunity Act 1984
- Tasmania: Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
- Victoria: Equal Opportunity Act 2010
- Western Australia: Equal Opportunity Act 1984
Direct and indirect discrimination
Various anti-discrimination laws distinguish between direct and indirect discrimination. Here is an overview of the distinction between the two.
Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs if a person treats someone less favourably because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.
An example of direct sexual orientation discrimination is not promoting an employee because they identify as gay or bisexual.
Indirect discrimination
This form of discrimination may be subtler and more difficult to identify than direct discrimination. Indirect discrimination happens when a requirement, condition or practice – which is supposed to treat everyone equally – actually disadvantages people due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or marital or relationship status.
For example, an organisation may have human resources policies which do not allow changes to be made to an employee’s records. This could mean that a transgender person would have to repeatedly disclose information about their gender identity to explain why it does not match their employee records.
Another example is having a policy that only applies to an employee’s husband or wife. This could be a benefit, such as discounts on travel or gym membership. Such a policy may disadvantage employees in same-sex relationships because of their sexual orientation and/or their relationship status.
Steps to avoid discrimination in the workplace
After you have familiarised yourself with your legal obligations, there are some steps you can take to create a discrimination-free work environment for LGBTIQ+ employees. Here are five steps for you to consider.
1. Create strong policies and procedures
Strong, inclusive policies and procedures provide a clear set of guidelines on how to avoid discrimination. Here are some policies and procedures that you may consider establishing.
- An anti-discrimination policy, which explicitly prohibits discrimination against employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is advisable to include a complaints process in the policy, which allows employees to make complaints about instances of discrimination.
- HR systems and documents that recognise all genders and personal pronouns.
- An inclusive family leave policy that treats all parents equally, regardless of their gender.
- Domestic-partner benefits.
2. Provide training on LGBTIQ+ inclusion and awareness
Employees may not be aware of the impact that their words and actions have on their LGBTIQ+ colleagues. This is why LGBTIQ+ inclusion and awareness training can make a meaningful difference in reducing discrimination in the workplace. Such training can also help decision makers to become more attuned to implicit or unconscious bias in their decision-making.
You could invite external experts and speakers to lead workshops on relevant issues. Numerous LGBTIQ+ advocacy groups offer inclusion and awareness training.
3. Establish inclusive hiring practices
Consider establishing an equal opportunity hiring policy, in which you explicitly state that your organisation hires people based on their ability and not their sexuality or gender identity (among other attributes). You could also state in your job advertisements that your organisation welcomes applications from LGBTIQ+ candidates.
Implementing a masked resume screening process can help to reduce unconscious bias in your hiring decisions. To reduce bias based on sexuality or gender identity, you can remove the names, gender identities and any LGBTIQ+ group affiliations from candidates’ resumes.
4. Use inclusive language
Language has a powerful impact on the way people feel and experience the world. Therefore, a simple but meaningful way to avoid discrimination and help people to feel included is to adopt inclusive language in all of your organisation’s communications.
It is important to recognise that LGBTIQ+ communities are diverse and dynamic. Language in these communities is constantly evolving, and LGBTIQ+ people describe themselves in a variety of ways. But here are some ways to make sure you are using inclusive language in your communications.
- Avoid assuming that people are either men or women. Instead of ‘ladies and gentlemen’, you could use ‘everyone’.
- Similarly, avoid assuming that everyone is heterosexual. If you do not know the gender of someone’s partner, consider referring to their ‘partner’ instead of ‘husband’ or ‘wife’.
- Acknowledge transgender or gender diverse employees as the gender they identify with. This includes using their new name, appropriate pronouns and making any necessary changes, for example, to their email address and employment records.
- Use ‘they’ as a generic third-person singular pronoun instead of ‘he/she’ for examples or when a person’s gender is unknown.
5. Use pronouns correctly
Personal pronouns are an important aspect of a person’s identity, and using their pronouns correctly demonstrates respect and inclusivity. A person’s pronouns may or may not be the ones you would typically associate with their gender identity. So, it is best to ask someone which pronouns they use and avoid making assumptions.
The most common personal pronouns are she/her, he/him and they/them. If you are ever unsure, you can always use ‘they/them’ until you find out which pronouns someone uses. A range of ‘neopronouns’ are increasingly being used in LGBTIQ+ communities. They include zie/zir, ze/hir, ze/zir, zie/hir, ey/em, ney/nem, ve/ver and xe/xem. These express more nuanced identities without referencing gender.
Encouraging all employees to share their pronouns at meetings, events and in email signatures can help to normalise the use of different pronouns.
Some employees may be confused and stressed about making mistakes with someone’s pronouns. It is helpful to remind your employees that it is okay to make mistakes. If you use the wrong pronouns, you can simply apologise and use the person’s correct pronouns in future.
Final thoughts
LGBTIQ+ discrimination in the workplace is a major issue in Australia, with nearly half of LGBTIQ+ Australian workers having had some experience with discrimination at work. One of the best ways to avoid discrimination is to review your policies and procedures, ensuring they are strong and compliant with the relevant laws. But it can also be helpful to speak directly with your employees to find out about their individual experiences at work, and what you can do to ensure that everyone is treated equally.
