Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER September 19, 2016 NEWS 7 Toronto-based human rights ex- pert and strategist. "It's unethical that you can't be who you are and share who you love with people that you work with day to day," he said. The fact Canada has some strong human rights protec- tions is a positive thing, but that shouldn't make us complacent, said Colin Druhan, executive di- rector of Pride at Work Canada in Toronto. "We forget that it takes some time for the culture to catch up with that policy," he said. Also, people don't always un- derstand the more insidious or less overt forms of discrimination that happen within workplaces that make it difficult for LGBTQ individuals to share that part of their identities. Sometimes, someone may be technically out at work — but not to everyone, said Druhan. "Being out isn't necessarily get- ting a job and announcing to the whole office, 'Hey everyone, I'm gay.' You come out every day — every time somebody asks you, 'Are you seeing somebody?' or they see a wedding ring and say, 'What's your wife's name?'" he said. "It's constantly coming out — it's not just a one-and-done situation." ere's a fundamental misun- derstanding on the part of a lot of people who are straight and cis- gender and who don't necessarily need to come out at work, said Druhan. "People who are not members of the LGBTQ community, some people don't understand the im- portance of being out because they don't think it's appropriate to 'talk about sex' at work," he said. "But how many baby showers have I been to at the office? How many kids' birthday parties have I seen pictures of? How many wed- ding photos have I looked at? And I'm not bothered by any of those things — I think it's great. Every- one wants to learn about their colleagues and learn about their lives." But for people who aren't out at work, they can't talk about the relationships in their lives, their families, their children, said Druhan. "You're disconnected from your colleagues in a fundamental way." at misunderstanding about the importance of sharing that part of your identity can lead to a lot of systemic issues in the work- place, he said. Beyond the policy at is where it becomes impor- tant to have a solid policy and education for employees about creating an inclusive and respect- ful workplace, said Green. "Having an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy, I think, would be very helpful, and in fact that's an area that 81 per cent of the respondents to our survey were very positive about." A policy or any kind of work- place program really is just an in- tention about how you want the workplace to be, said Druhan. "You need to back that intent up with some serious action, and you actually have to help people understand how they can live out the values stated in that policy. Because words are one thing, but actions are another." Leadership involvement But a policy alone is not enough, said Green. e starting point is for leadership to get involved and encourage employees to get in- volved and engaged, he said. "What has worked very well at Telus is the creation of the Spec- trum organization, which is our support group for the LGBTQ community. That is now over 1,100 employees strong," said Green, who is an executive spon- sor of the group. "at's been a great asset to our organization. ey encourage peo- ple to discuss the topics and create support and encouragement for team members… And it demon- strates above all else that Telus is an environment where you should feel comfortable to bring your true self to work every day." ere are other practical things that can be done as well, such as training and development of team members across the board, so awareness and understanding should be encouraged, he said, along with supporting and taking part in events and celebrations around the community. e bar needs to be challenged regularly, said D'Souza. "And when I say bar, I mean for the management team to under- stand the culture and dignity that employees feel," he said. Consistent learning is key — having a one-hour training ses- sion and calling it a day is not enough to shape culture. "Agencies need to have a solid infrastructure of training — they must be given opportunities to think about the way they can deconstruct identity bias," said D'Souza. In all spaces, there exists a bias toward sexual minorities, and you can't deconstruct it and remove it in one one-hour session, he said. "You can't bring in a trainer like myself for one hour in a year and say, 'We've done equity training.' at's absolutely ludicrous," said D'Souza. "True organizational change and organizational shifts happen when an organization says, 'Every month, we're going to meet as a team and we're going to train or be exposed to resources that con- stantly challenge the way we pro- cess human identity.' "Patriarchy is alive and well, heterosexism is alive and well. And until we see proper rep- resentation in the media about sexual minority groups, that in- culcation continues, our identity bias continues." Culture takes time to catch up with policies LGBT < pg. 1

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