Advocating for Workplace Equality: Build Support
When advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender fairness in your workplace, you must obtain support for your proposal from as many people as possible.
- Talk to your supervisors about what you are trying to accomplish. Make sure they understand what you are doing and why it is so important to you.
- Start a dialogue with your human resources department. Human resources “will get involved at some point, and they will either be your enemy or your ally,” says Kim Harris, a former program manager in corporate work force diversity at Hewlett-Packard who was instrumental in adding sexual orientation to HP’s non-discrimination policy. “Finding someone you can trust and getting advice on how to proceed is a must.”
- GLBT employee resource groups are an excellent source of information and can provide contacts with other employees who may be in a similar situation. If your company does not have a GLBT employee resource group, you may consider starting one to raise the profile of your cause and to seek out allies