In the last several years, transgender issues have grown prominent in the public political debate, with conservative lawmakers across the country increasing efforts to legislate against trans and LGBTQ rights in education, healthcare, and other arenas.
HR Brew spoke with Madison Butler, DE&I and culture consultant and CPO at cannabis glassware company GRAV, to find out how to protect trans employees in the workplace.
“It is so important that not only are you acknowledging that [trans and queer] identities are valid within your organization, and they are allowed to exist as whoever they need to be, day in and day out,” Butler said.
A people professional and LGBTQ advocate, Butler suggested that HR teams stay informed about active and pending state-level legislation affecting transgender and queer people, especially in states where their employees reside. Be sure to ask individual employees what support they may need, she suggested.
“As an HR leader, my goal is to ensure that I’m really thinking about what people need from me as a resource,” Butler said. “I have to care about their physical and mental well-being, not just when they’re logged into Slack.”
Close the door on harmful language. Butler said there’s no room at the office for entertaining stereotypes or myths about trans people.
“You’re welcome to believe what you want to believe,” she said. “[But] your beliefs cannot cause harm to other people within your workplace.”
Butler warned that HR often succumbs to the “paradox of tolerance,” making room for all sides of an argument, but “there’s a big difference between holding a harmful view and [something] being your identity.”
Enforce the “no tolerance” policy. It’s important that HR have an explicit no tolerance policy, but it’s even more important that it’s actively enforced, said Butler.
Keep reading.—AD