5 easy ways to help LGBTQ staff feel like they belong in the workplace

Pride month is a time to celebrate being queer, but it’s also a moment to reflect on the work that’s left to be done when it comes to making our communities—including our businesses and workplaces—more equitable. “More than 40% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people experience conflict—such as being undermined, humiliated or discriminated against—at work,” write Luke Fletcher, Deborah Brewis, and Rosa Marvell in a recent article. “This figure rises to 55% for transgender and nonbinary staff.” On Fast Company’s podcast The New Way We Work, host and deputy editor Kathleen Davis has been reporting on what it’s like to be queer at work in 2021, as well as what can be done to make workplaces more inclusive for trans employees, including improving healthcare offerings. We’re also covering LGBTQ success stories. You’ll find plenty of them on this year’s Queer 50 list, which highlights women and nonbinary leaders across the business and tech world. —Julia Herbst   The New Way We Work Work has long been a battlefield for trans employees On the latest episode of ‘The New Way We Work,’ we talk to Gabriel Arkles from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund about how employers and allies can build a more inclusive workplace for trans employees.   queer 50 Introducing the second annual list of LGBTQ women and nonbinary innovators in business and tech. We’re proud to announce Fast Company’s second annual Queer 50 list.   co.design How childhood bullying inspired this Lego VP to design an LGBTQ set Lego started selling a rainbow-colored set in honor of Pride Month on June 1.

We take a very long view on Reddit. We’ve been around for 15 years. I am confident we’ll be around for the next 15 years in an even bigger, more influential way.” Jen Wong, reddit coo and no. 4 on fast company’s second annual Queer 50 list READ MORE

Pride Month ‘SNL’ tells the hilarious truth about Pride—and its own LGBTQ evolution The show’s nuanced depiction of Pride month’s wonderful and terrible messiness reveals just how far ‘Saturday Night Live’ has come in a short time.   workplace evolution LGBTQ employees regularly face discrimination at work. Here are 5 steps companies can take to be more inclusive A new McKinsey & Co. report found that companies’ stated commitment to LGBTQ+ equity hasn’t yet translated into results.   lgbtq at work Hilarious And Heartbreaking Lessons From 3,000 Coming-Out Stories We learned a lot when we read thousands of personal stories about what it’s like to be LGBTQ at work.   lgbtq at work A gay teacher’s epiphany: “Kids don’t think the way adults do.” Against a colleague’s well-meaning advice, a Toronto teacher came out to his students last September–and was surprised by how open-minded they were.   workplace evolution 5 easy ways to help LGBTQ staff feel like they belong in the workplace One simple example could be the use of preferred personal pronouns in email signatures and during meetings.     recommender These 8 innovative swimwear brands will keep you looking (and feeling) great all summer Starring eco-friendly, perfect-fitting styles from Everlane, Cuup, Summersalt, and more.     recommender This $600 ‘inkjet printer’ for skin promises a smooth complexion without foundation Opte’s beauty printer deposits light serum pigment over dark spots, enhancing skin’s natural beauty without covering it up     Queer 50 Queer leaders on the impact of the pandemic and the future beyond it 2020 had a huge impact on our lives, from the global pandemic to our reckoning with racism and bigotry. Alicia Garza, cofounder of Black Lives Matter; Sally Susman, chief corporate affairs officer at Pfizer; Jen Wong, chief operating officer of Reddit; and Lara Mendonça, head of product design at Bumble discuss how it impacted queer lives and where we go from here. WATCH NOW     FREE SPONSORED E-BOOK OF THE DAY Career Planning: Why It's Essential For Your Success Click here to download your free e-book.       Support strength in journalism Join Fast Company Premium for $1   You can update your details here. If you don’t want to receive Compass anymore, unsubscribe here If you were forwarded Compass and like it, subscribe here View this newsletter online 7 World Trade Center, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10007-2195