Overview
Our qualified trainers provide presentations, workshops, and panel discussions on a variety of LGBT-related subjects, including:
- Introduction to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression
- Health-related issues in the LGBT population
- Creating a welcoming place of business for LGBT clients, patients, and volunteers
- Creating inclusive workplace policies, procedures and practices
- LGBT youth-related issues, parenting and family support
- Best practices and policies for increasing inclusiveness and safety for LGBT elders
For Employers
With an increasingly diverse workforce and consumer market, and the rise of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workforce over the last decade, many employers struggle to help their established workforce adapt, and furthermore to bring new staff into the organization’s culture.
Identity provides several types of diversity trainings: anti-discrimination training, diversity awareness training, and diversity management/leadership training.
For Employees
Apart from having an inclusive equal employment opportunity or non-discrimination statement, employers need to communicate these policies to all of their employees. But, in doing so, many employees will require guidance with basic information:
- Who does this affect? The non-discrimination policy applies to everyone, including employees, job applicants, customers and clients.
- What are we talking about? What do the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” mean? How do those terms apply to everyone?
- Why does the business care? Explain the business rationale. For example, “we want all employees to feel safe and comfortable so they can be productive.” What laws come into play?
- How does this affect us? How should we acknowledge people who differ from ourselves on these characteristics?
Diversity Training on Gender Identity and Gender Expression
Incorporate education about gender identity and gender expression in diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity compliance training programs.
- To ensure compliance with employment policies, all employees should at a minimum have clear guidance regarding appropriate workplace behavior and the consequences of failing to comply with anti-discrimination policies that include gender identity.
- Education and training about gender identity can take the form of small, informal discussions, modules that are incorporated into a larger diversity training curriculum, or full-fledged training and educational programs on transgender issues.
- Communication and diversity training regarding gender identity in the workplace should be comparable to other policy announcements and training initiatives. For instance, if an employer provides online harassment training that incorporates race and sex, it should also incorporate gender identity.
- Supervisory employees should receive diversity training that includes clear examples of discrimination based on gender identity shortly after starting employment and on a regular basis thereafter (e.g.: every two years, as required by law for California-based employers). When an employee transitions at work, these expectations should be restated.
Leadership is the most important element for change, and that includes fostering workplaces that have an inclusive culture and that enhance cross-cultural awareness and skills through communication, training, and education. This is the starting point for any meaningful change in creating fair workplaces.” description=”— Freada Kapor Klein, Giving Notice: Why the Best and the Brightest Leave the Workplace and How You can Help Them Stay
When someone transitions on the job, in-person training with the employee’s managers and colleagues who work directly with the transitioning employee is important. Here, management has an opportunity not only to provide education on transgender issues, but also to reiterate expectations of workplace fairness for all employees. Training should ideally be facilitated by someone who has strong experience with transgender issues and experience presenting these issues with employers. Although potentially illuminating, utilizing a therapist or other mental health care provider can unnecessarily stigmatize training efforts; similarly, utilizing a provider close to the transitioning employee might inadvertently invade the employee’s privacy.
“Everyone transitions when a transsexual person comes out in the workplace. Transition is not just a practical process, but it is inherently an emotional and psychological process for everyone.” — Moonhawk River Stone
