Inclusion Paradox Sighting: For LGBT Employees, Workplace Climate More Powerful than Nondiscrimination Policy

The Human Rights Campaign’s groundbreaking new study on LGBT employees in the workplace concludes that a formal policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is less important with respect to the openness of LGBT employees than an overall positive workplace climate.

In order to turn these findings into actionable steps, the HRC partnered with Hewitt Associates in devising and piloting the first-ever LGBT workplace climate assessment tool (”The HRC Climate Assessment Tool”) to help organizations identify LGBT employees and improve their work environments. Designed to be adapted by organizations or work­ing groups within an organization, the tool measures the perception of climate from both an LGBT and non-LGBT perspective. This is critical, because organizational change rests on assessing differences in percep­tions between these two groups of workers, not just on understanding the perceptions of one group.

The HRC is also partnering with Hewitt to develop toolkits and training modules aimed at the three tiers of organizational change agents identified in the research: senior leadership, human resources and diversity professionals; midlevel managers and supervisors; and individual employees.

For more information contact the HRC or Bo Young Lee at Hewitt bo.young.lee@hewitt.com

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