Ten Ways to Create a 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusive Workplace
Graphic by Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia
Happy Pride Month! We at Restorative Approach are excited to mark this occasion given that we are a completely queer-owned and queer-run. We’re here for the queers!
A few things to share about our queerness:
First, we have strong commitments to the queer community:
We will always center and support queer voices in our work.
We will always offer sliding scale services to any queer folks or queer organizations in the community in service of building and strengthening queer solidarity.
Second, we are excited for our recent work with Legal Information Society NS to create the Moving Beyond the Binary guide. This gorgeous resource, launched on March 31st, International Day of Trans Visibility, offers detailed steps on meaningfully including two-spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender diverse folks. The guide focuses not just on how to support gender diverse folks, but why it’s so important and so valuable to do so.
This gorgeous 70 page guide includes:
A free gender diversity workplace inclusion policy template
Animated videos describing the guide
A portrait gallery displaying beautiful portraits and quotes from Nova Scotian two-spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people
Social media content for you to share with your networks
Free workshops to integrate the guide into your workplace
Founder Shila is proud to be co-facilitating the free workshops for Moving Beyond the Binary with queer activist Shae Morse. This guide is a positive step forward in creating a healthy, connected, and inclusive workspace. Shila spoke with Global TV about the guide - watch here to learn more.
Third, we are proudly a member of the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to ensure that we support and connect with other queer businesses. Supplier diversity is increasingly recognized and we are happy to be out and proud in the business world.
Have you and your team taken steps to ensure that you’re inclusive of gender diverse folks? Here are ten ways to create a 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusive Workplace:
To start, read our guide, Moving Beyond the Binary!
Listen to and learn from 2SLGBTQIA+ perspectives personally and professionally.
Make sure that your organization checks in on pronouns regularly, and has a process in place for when folks change their pronouns (plans for their personnel file, business cards, name tags, etc)
If it’s necessary for you to collect information on gender, make sure that you offer lots of options beyond “man” and “woman”
Make sure your organization has a gender inclusion policy - find our free template here!
Respect the privacy of gender diverse people
Support employees who are transitioning by offering benefits and time off
Signal to the queer community that you include them (and make sure that this signal is more than a performance)
Invest in training around 2SLGBTQIA+ issues and pay queer people to deliver it
Include your pronouns in your email signature - read more about why this matters in our guide
We all have so much to gain by including queer perspectives at work and in the world. Queer folks have innovative and creative ways of seeing the world that, when included, help us create a world that works for everyone. Gender inclusion is not just a legal obligation or the right thing to do - it has huge benefits to each and every one of us in the community! Remember - Moving Beyond the Binary is a free resource, and so are our workshops. Please sign up!