Gender Diversity and Non-Binary Inclusion in the Workplace by Sarah Gibson & J. Fernandez

Author:Sarah Gibson & J. Fernandez
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784505233
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2018-01-07T05:00:00+00:00

Reducing exclusionary incidents

Unfortunately, exclusionary incidents are very common for non-binary people. Our own work finding is that half suffer an incident in the workplace (45%) or as a consumer (53%) on a monthly or more frequent basis (Fernandez et al. 2017). When we look at the causes of these incidents we find that they are very much within the control of organizations, either coming from employees or from specific practices. While this may not currently seem a very positive picture, it does mean that making your organization more inclusive can have a real effect on non-binary inclusion in wider society.

Our research (Fernandez et al. 2017) has found that workplace incidents involving non-binary people primarily involve close colleagues (47% of cases) and managers (33% of cases). Such incidents usually involve negative ‘jokes’ being made or a refusal to refer to someone with the correct name and pronouns. In a few cases, more serious discrimination such as sexual assault occurs. Similarly, when non-binary people are acting as customers, the primary cause of exclusionary incidents was staff members, comprising 86 per cent of incidents, compared to other customers/service users being involved (29% of cases). These incidents commonly included refusing access to a gendered space or service because the staff member did not believe the non-binary person should be allowed access. Either when at work or as customers, the most common groups causing exclusionary incidents are company employees who would be positively influenced by internal training and an inclusive internal culture.

The majority of these incidents do not have complex causes and are usually down to a lack of knowledge and understanding of non-binary people, rather than arising out of malice. It is easy to see why they happen when no help is currently given to staff on how to interact with non-binary people. What is needed to fix this is remarkably simple: a basic explanation that non-binary people exist and should be respected. This would actually go a very long way.

While this guidance is slowly disseminating through the rest of society, by word of mouth or through the media, organizations have the opportunity to accelerate its progress and make a real positive impact. Reducing exclusionary incidents is one of the primary goals for LGBT+, trans and non-binary rights organizations and it is possible for you to be part of the solution. Implementing some basic training for employees, even sharing simple information on who non-binary people are, can have a profound impact on non-binary inclusion across society.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.