Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR december 1, 2014 2 News Recent stories posted on www.hrreporter.com. Check the website daily for quick news hits from across Canada and around the world. web O n t h e Across cANAdA ousands march in support of Radio Canada with more job cuts looming 1,000 to 1,500 jobs to be slashed over next 5 years New Brunswick government to raise hourly minimum wage to $10.30 takes effect dec. 31 Mulcair plan for parliamentary harassment process draws on past experience proposing all parties jointly draft formal code of conduct 40 per cent of workers frequently think about quitting two-thirds willing to relocate for right job: Survey ArouNd the world India urges higher pay for millions of Gulf workers Could lead to increased wages for workers from pakistan, Bangladesh Google contractor accuses company of pay, overtime violations in lawsuit Worker terminated after asking for more hours to be covered under contract Establishing HR abroad Janet Walsh, Ceo of Birchtree Global, talks to Canadian HR Reporter tV about HR's vital role when employers operate overseas hrreporter.com Featured Video No one ever expects to have cancer. When it strikes, having CAREpath as part of your benefit package shows your employees and their families how much you really care. Employees diagnosed with cancer are assigned a personal oncology nurse providing guidance and support throughout every stage of their cancer journey. CAREpath is the only complete cancer navigation provider in Canada. No one ever expects to have cancer. cancer? Does one of your employees have We'll be there. 1-866-599-2720 www.carepath.ca THE CANCER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Anita McGowan, RN, CON(C), OCN Head Oncology Nurse Manager NiagaraInstitute.com conferenceboard.ca Tools for Leadership Success Niagara Institute Leadership Training • Publications • Webinars is successful, who hasn't had the world crash all around him as a re- sult of a public announcement like that, creates a great role model ex- ample that they can do the same." Senior executive role models are key to organizations, to busi- ness and to the LGBT community itself, said Sue Black, group vice- president of global transforma- tion at Sodexo in Singapore. "Cook sent the message that 'I am proud of being a gay man and the CEO of Apple and both aspects are a massive part of who I am.' For people who are trying to see if they too can be successful as a member of the LGBT com- munity, this kind of role modelling is critical. His message is about bringing your whole self to work and being proud of who you are and that you can be successful and bring real value to your colleagues and business by doing so." Black herself was not out at work for years and found it really self-limiting, she said. "I wasted time and energy on creating a persona and, at the end of the day, when I eventually did come out to colleagues, I realized that it had really diverted energy that I could have directed towards many other things. For me, since that point, it is just about being myself in all aspects of my life — including work, which is an im- portant part of my life." Reluctance to step up So why are there so few openly gay leaders in the C-suite? Work- places are competitive and some people are just not ready to in- troduce what they perceive to be another potential barrier to their career progress, said Black. "Coming out can be a risk and requires courage. e fact that, these days, (businesses) invest in education, awareness and un- derstanding the business case of inclusive workplaces and having more strong role models from the LGBT community will hopefully have a positive impact." While Canada has made tre- mendous progress around human rights protection, many people have come from generations where those protections weren't in place, said Petersen, who is also senior director of diversity and in- clusion at CIBC. "The pipeline of people… to be considered for C-suite jobs very often has come up from gen- erations where they've grown up seeing discrimination firsthand. And then, just recently, within the last 10 to 15 years, they knew that there was legislative protec- tion but they haven't necessarily experienced it so it's entrenched in terms of their willingness to be open about who they are." From a talent management per- spective, informal networks still really matter, he said. "While there can be policies in place that prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orienta- tion or gender expression, people know in terms of how people are selected for jobs — networking, in- formal networks, relationships that are created — are important. And I think that there's fear for people that if they bring their whole self to work and they disclose who they fully are, that could be a judgment that's applied to them." ere's also the issue of per- sonal life versus public life. "It's a very fine line for these public figures, executives, et ce- tera — when do you get to live your life and where does your job stop?" said Bach. And it's very challenging to ask a person to come out in a world where the narrative is you should be straight, he said. "ere is still a level of shame and stigma around being LBGT that there has never been around being heterosexual-identified," said Bach. "e onus, though, is still on the employer to ensure it is an environment where they can come out, and once they've done that, it's up to the individual to say, 'Yeah, I'm going to stick my head up and be out.'" Employer supports Canadian businesses need to do more to ensure LGBT employees feel welcome and valued in the workplace, according to a 2014 survey by Sodexo. Two-thirds of employees feel more can be done to welcome LGBT employees, while 81 per cent in the LGBT community feel businesses gen- erally need to strive harder, found the survey of 1,090 employees. It's one thing to come out to your family but then you have to come out to your work colleagues and every single person you meet, whether that's on a new team or with a new client, said Petersen. "You're constantly coming out to people," he said. "(But) if you're in an environment that's made it known that LGBT are a vibrant part of our workforce and we absolutely embrace diversity and we include people from all back- grounds, it doesn't feel like such an anxious conversation every time you do it." You don't know what you don't know and unless an organization puts up a sign and says, "Gays Welcome" and makes it clear it wants to hire people who are LGBT and creates that inclusive work environment, there's a skep- ticism, said Bach. "We sort of say, 'Well, you know, I'm not going to put my neck out until I know,'" he said. "LGBT peo- ple are the masters of disguise — we spend most of our lives hiding — so we need a symbol, a sign and the rainbow flag, both literally and figuratively, is that sign that says, 'is is a safe space for you, you don't have to hide who you are.'" Policies and practices should also be inclusive and people should be trained on inclusive language, said Bach. For example, instead of saying "husband" or "wife," use "spouse" or "partner." "It's really simple stuff, general- ly, but it's important stuff because the default is straight and cisgen- dered… so we have to kind of not fall into the defaults." It's about understanding and educating around the different di- mensions of diversity and creating a clear business focus on expecta- tions within the organization, said Black. "Creating an environment of inclusion is... what is truly needed from business leaders to leverage diversity fully: The willingness and capacity to recognize, value and optimize the diversity of the workforce, clients, customers, suppliers and partners," she said. "Organizations that do this and have strong role models from all backgrounds, including the LGBT community, really can be assured that the organization's talent will develop — no matter what their background." Strong role models help develop talent tim cook < pg. 1 "lGBt people are the masters of disguise so we need a symbol, a sign that says, 'is is a safe place for you.'"

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