Creating an LGBT+ Inclusive Workplace

The Practical Resource Guide for Business Leaders

Kryss Shane

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781000388626
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Setting out best practices and professional guidance for creating LGBT+ inclusive workplaces, this approachable and easy to follow book guides current and future leaders of all industries toward appropriate and proven ways to create safer working environments, update company policies, enhance continuing education and training, and better support LGBT+ people in the workplace.

Featuring real-life situations and scenarios, a glossary, and further resources, Creating an LGBT+ Inclusive Workplace enables professionals in all aspects of professional roles to integrate foundational concepts into their everyday interactions with staff at all levels as well as within the community to create an overall workplace culture that nurtures a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for all. This book includes postcards from PostSecret as its foreword and more than a dozen exclusive interviews from the world's top leaders in a variety of industries with world-renowned reputations.

Enabling professionals in a variety of business roles to create an overall workplace culture that nurtures a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for all, this book is an essential resource for independent readers, department teams, and entire corporations.

Appendix II Interviews

Section summary

In this section, you will read exclusive interviews from some of the world’s leading experts. They span a variety of age ranges, identities, locations, and industries. They share their personal stories in becoming top-level leaders, as well as insights into the past, present, and future of their industries’ inclusive practices and beliefs. Finally, they’ll share with you some of their best advice for how to get ahead and become as successful as they are!

How to use this section

This section can be utilized individually or collectively. Whether you are reading this on your own, as a small group, or in a larger training, you may choose to seek out people who are similar to you demographically. You may wish to focus on those in industries of interest. Perhaps you decide to read them all and compare the similarities and differences. It is truly up to you!

Section take-away

The purpose of this section is to imagine and examine the leaders’ stories, insights, and advice and consider how to best apply it to your own professional goals and aspirations.

Lau Viggo Albjerg

Independent Career Coach and Management Consultant
white, cisgender man (he/him), gay

Lau Viggo Albjerg is a leading independent career coach and management consultant with international experience and knowledge. He has worked with GlaxoSmithKline and Colgate-Palmolive as a brand manager, as well as currently working as a business owner, managing the careers and personal brands of many of the world’s future leaders.

Please share your story

My career path was a bit untraditional as I did not find my place in the world until I had spent some time traveling and getting to know myself. I had traveled to Australia when I was 24, I had been working prior to that as a photographer, then as a flight attendant, but it was never what felt like what I was supposed to do. I took six months in Australia working there and it turned my life around. Before that, I had felt a sense of shame about my sexuality; I felt cool to not be a part of the gay environment; I was gay, but I did not want to be perceived as a part of that lifestyle. Then I went to Australia. It was a whole new world where there was such an ease with who people were. I worked at a cocktail bar and blossomed in terms of my confidence in my sexuality! I really realized how important it was for me to feel and to be honest and authentic. It led me to realize that the gay community was so important because we had to create safe places to be ourselves and to feel confident and, well, normal, in our society.

Then I came back home and all I could think of was how to get out again, to explore more about myself, my sexuality, and the world. I got accepted to Business Law School, but my focus was about how could finish my education and get out in the world as fast as possible. I declined business law and enrolled for a 2-year diploma in marketing economy. For many years this was always a feeling of regret. Most of my friends and colleagues all have master’s degrees and later in my career, when I started to work for the big corporations, I always felt disadvantaged in comparison to my peers. It played to the feeling of being the odd one out, the one not as good as the rest. I felt like I did not belong in yet another way. In many ways, the education I got was heavily influenced by my sexuality. Business law or Marketing … two very different things and in all honestly completely random choices. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My head space was filled with thoughts about finding confidence in my identity and belonging somewhere. During this time, I wished I had had a support system, from likeminded peers, who could help me navigate during this confusing and defining time. It caused me to lose some focus on my own career management. This is a big reason for why I am doing what I am doing today.

Over time, I networked my way into many incredible positions at international corporations including one at GlaxoSmithKlein. I later moved to London to work with Colgate. I worked in marketing and had some great positions with a wide responsibility. But as I grew older, I also noticed I started to lose my passion for my work. In the end I realized that there was no way out other than leaving my corporate career and taking some time out to explore what I was truly passionate about. Through my career I also had these “what if” thoughts. One of those was “what if I had gotten a master’s degree?”. I had told myself for so many years that this was really the reason why I didn’t feel confident in my work. Today I know if wasn’t but deciding to go back to uni and finally obtaining that master’s degree has been a significant personal achievement.

Since leaving a corporate career, I have trained as a coach, worked with career transition, and are not using my own experience from the corporate industry to help others navigate in their career management. Because I found out that my passion, what gives me energy, was actually helping others to build professional lives that feel fulfilling for them and sharing the knowledge and experience I has learned myself.

In summary, I guide people to listen to themselves, to become clearer and more authentic, so they can build careers they love while getting stronger in loving themselves too. That said, no matter what I do, I am always learning about myself too, which are life lessons I also translate into finding new ways to keep helping others!

What do you remember about your early experiences or considerations for LGBT+ people in your industry?

I think a lot of big companies had a general perception, but they see it as not actively harming LGBT+ people but not specially caring for the group either. Much like “all lives matter,” Their intention was well-intentioned but not specifically focused on caring and enhancing that aspect of their employees.

However, some corporations have gotten this very wrong! A friend in my field once worked for a company where his department had an actual gay award, which was given out at the annual holiday party. It was seen as a joke; if someone wore colorful socks, it was assumed as “that’s so gay” and that made the person eligible for a nomination for the gay award. It was shocking for me how they had no concept of how wrong this was. My friend had to be the one to stand up and speak up and this only happened after some time, and in the end, my friend left that company. I think this is a great example of a heteronormative non-diverse culture that created an island mentality. It’s like the fairy tale of the emperor’s new clothes but without anyone shouting the emperor wasn’t wearing any clothes. In a culture with a diverse and inclusive ambition, this would never have happened, someone would have prevented this before it began or immediately upon the inventor trying to add this to the company’s culture.

What have you seen change since then?

Many companies are working to improve. Colgate is a great example. On World AIDS Day, they send a company-wide email with information, educating everyone, and they offer help and support for those who need medication or testing. I know this did not always happen. It made me so proud to see them using their power to plant some information with their employees. For me, it was them owning their diverse employees and making a taboo subject be more openly discussed. It wasn’t in a way to promote themselves externally, it was just an internal email.

However, this varies a lot depending on the industries. I find that the corporations with female or diverse leadership typically have more empathy.

Where do you think your industry or company will go next in terms of LGBT+ inclusion?

I think it’s going to be interesting. It is showing that this is becoming top of mind more frequently. Some companies are trying to engage in this in truly inclusive ways. Other companies claim to create and celebrate diversity programming or goals, but the entire leadership team has no diversity whatsoever. That speaks volumes.

The younger generations are much more aware of what companies need to do to truly own LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace. I hope this will lead to more changes. However, it has to start with management, who must see the value in doing this work. There are some great examples of it working well as well as marketing mistakes that harm corporations. Every time this happens, everyone learns. Every time a mistake happens, it becomes clear that not having a diverse decision-making group costs the brand value of the company. Every time an inclusive advertisement is well-received, it shows that this can happen without problem and that it can become a viral way that inclusion drives and increases business.

What guidance would you give to other current/future business leaders about why being LGBT+ inclusive matters?

You truly must engage with these groups. Recognize that you are at a disadvantage that you do not automatically know the experiences of this group. Listen to members of the community and be willing to learn, to be wrong, to become better, and to keep doing this. You need to recognize that you not only need to say that you believe in diversity, but you also have to act with this in mind. You have to mirror society and society has to see themselves in your company. However much you want to say you believe, if your actions do not show it, your concepts are not going to be successful.

For those who can, travel! Choose to visit places very different than what you are familiar with, very different from your own life experiences. Stay there for a while. Whether you are going to another country or another city, choose a place where you are in a minority. Experience what it feels like to be judged, mistrusted, and questioned. Feel out being the “odd one out” can give you perspective in ways you cannot get from reading a book or trying to imagine what it must be like.

Hold yourself accountable. This is not something you spend time with once in your lifetime and never again. You have to keep learning and growing. Sometimes people mistakenly think that what was once okay suddenly became not okay, whether this is related to the terms we use to refer to someone or the images we use of a population or slogans or assumptions. However, it was never okay, people just did not have the ability to say this without significant repercussions. It was always hurting them, and they just put their heads down. To speak up now is not someone changing the rules, it’s finally feeling safe or empowered enough to say what they have always felt and always known. It is not up to the majority to say what is offensive and hurtful, it is up to them to listen and to do better when you are told. To do otherwise is prejudicial, privileged, and intentionally harmful. To be an effective leader, you have to always be willing to put the needs of those you are leading ahead of your own and do everything you can to be inclusive and supportive so everyone can be their best selves in their workplace. It is not a choice, you must.

Lauren Banyar Reich

Founder of LBR PR
white, cisgender woman (she/her), heterosexual

Lauren Banyar Reich is the founder of LBR PR, a boutique public relations agency that combines high-touch service and impactful results with a transparency and authenticity that is unique to the PR world. With this distinctive approach to public relations and strategic communications, Lauren has helped her clients heighten brand awareness, increase donations, drive website traffic, grow market share, sell products and services, and develop thought leadership platforms. Her expertise spans positioning, traditional publicity, social media planning and execution, content strategy and development, influencer outreach, celebrity endorsements, partnerships, product launches, managing event logistics and booking speaking opportunities.

Lauren previously managed the agency day-to-day as Vice President and Director of Janine Gordon Associates (which was acquired by Peppercomm). She then served as the lead luxury specialist within the agency’s consumer group, JGA Peppercomm. Lauren also spent four years at Jane Wesman Public Relations, a respected book publicity agency, and began her career wrangling celebrity talent and managing production for major fundraising events.

Throughout all of her work, she is known for using her unique skillset to find the best in her clients and to guide them to becoming known for being the best in their industry!

Please share your story

I made two very good decisions when I was 18 years old; one was choosing my husband and the other was choosing public relations and communications as my major. I hate that you have to declare a major at that young age, but I was looking to my teachers and advisers and they were really complimentary about my abilities to communicate and be persuasive and they appreciated my writing. They led me in this direction, and I went with their expertise and guidance. I went to University of Maryland College Par’s Journalism School due to it being one of the top 3 programs in the country. It was incredibly challenging! However, I loved it because I learned so much from my professors. I always wanted to move to NYC after college, but I graduated post-9/11 so there wasn’t a ton of opportunity there. In 2004 my then boyfriend (now husband) and finally made the plunge and moved to New York city. There, I landed a job working with a small but respected boutique book publicity agency where I worked with best-selling authors and subject matter experts. It was a constant influx of information and I never got bored. There was always something new to learn and promote! As I grew in that role, I really began to understand the strategy and business behind PR and the value we provided for our clients.

Soon, I realized I wanted more responsibility and to manage others. In my next role I oversaw a talented team of publicists. I was able to still do the work, but also lead the stra...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Author
• Acknowledgements
• How Big of a Problem Is This?
• Preface
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Section I — The Foundation: Terminology and Insights
• Section II — Scenarios: Test Your Knowledge
• Section III — Put Your Knowledge into Practice
• Appendix I: Opposition
• Appendix II: Interviews
• Appendix III: Additional Resources
• Index