Public sector lagging on LGBTI inclusion

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Government continues to trail behind the private sector when it comes to LGBTI inclusion in the workplace, according to the annual Australian Workplace Equality Index.

Only 47% of public sector employees agreed that their organisation genuinely supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex inclusion. This was much lower than the three other sectors surveyed — higher education (56%), private (79%) and not for profit (80%).

Government employees are slightly less likely than their private sector counterparts to be out at work, according to the survey published by Pride in Diversity. 80% of private sector staff are out in their workplace, compared to 77% of public servants.

Westpac took out the position of Australia’s top employer this year, followed by the Commonwealth Bank and consultancy firm EY. The Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police are the top public sector employers.

Leadership matters

So what is it that successful organisations do well?

As is often noted in efforts to create a positive culture that supports integrity or ethnic diversity, leadership is key. Leaders at top 20 ranked organisations are more likely to believe that their workplace truly supports LGBTI inclusion (94% vs 85%) and have confidence their managers support inclusion (87% vs 82%).

Non-leadership staff at top 20 organisations were also more likely to believe their organisation genuinely supports inclusion than at other workplaces. They also had more confidence that their senior leaders and managers supported inclusion.

A key finding was that 80% of staff at top 20 organisations said they knew where to go to get more information on LGBTI inclusion — in contrast to only 61% in non-top 20 organisations. These percentages were irrespective of whether or not the respondent was LGBTI, “demonstrating that visibility is the key to the success of these initiatives”, says Pride in Diversity.

The results also emphasised the importance of creating an inclusive culture to attracting and retaining LGBTI staff. Around 84% of lesbian and gay respondents said having an LGBTI inclusive culture was important to their level of engagement at work, while 94% answered that it was important to be able to work somewhere they could be out.

The most common reasons for not wanting to be open about one’s sexuality in the workplace is not wanting “to be labelled”, “I just wouldn’t feel comfortable being out to my manager” and being unsure of the repercussions.

Bullying worse in the public sector

Given the link between leadership and success at creating an inclusive environment, it is concerning that a significant number of public servants did not believe their senior leadership were supportive. The survey found 69% of public sector respondents felt confident senior leaders in their organisation support LGBTI inclusion, compared to 77% in higher education, 86% in the private sector and 92% in not for profits.

The government sector also scored lowest on the statement “LGBTI employees within my immediate work area could comfortably be themselves within this organisation”.

The public sector fares poorly on bullying, too. 11% of queer public servants reported they had experienced bullying at work, compared to only 3.5% of private sector respondents. Government employees were more likely to have reported bullying, however.

The impact of bullying is highlighted by the number of people looking to leave the organisation: 8% of those in the public sector admitted to seeking another job with bullying being either the predominant or a contributing factor.

The results are based on 13,258 responses, 42% of whom are from the public sector. This included respondents from 21 public sector entities.

Because responses come from staff at organisations that are already actively considering diversity, the results should only be taken as a guide. This bias suggests conditions in any of the sectors may be worse than the results convey.

Police doing well

The Australian Federal Police came out on top as Australia’s highest ranking public sector employer. AFP commissioner Andrew Colvin put the organisation’s success down to “solid leadership on LGBTI workplace inclusion, promoted through our incredibly dedicated and active GLLO [gay and lesbian liaison officer] employee network and directed workplace initiatives”.

“Diversity is a core element of modern policing. Leveraging from a diverse workforce ensures that we reflect the community we serve, builds trust and strengthens our capacity to respond effectively to local, national and global challenges,” Colvin said. “The AFP values and supports diversity and is committed to embedding LGBTI inclusive practices into AFP organisational culture to ensure our members are confident to present as their authentic selves.”

New South Wales Police also scored highly, and was given the Trans Inclusion Award. Superintendent Tony Crandell said many of NSW Police’s LGBTI inclusion achievements were thanks to its gay and lesbian liaison officer program, established in 1990.

“From my perspective the GLLO program is just so important and for the GLLOs to be identifiable to not only make officers know they can have someone they can trust, but for the LGBTI public to know the officers can identify with them,” he said.

“A lot of our work is through the GLLO program, we have over 200 GLLOs. They are the face of the police to not only the community, but to the force itself.

“They provide support and advice to LGBTI or sexuality and gender diverse police officers. They do lots of community engagement.”

Image source: Wikipedia.