Helping Your Clients Create LGBT-Friendly Workplaces

Quick look: Pride Month takes place every June, but there are many reasons your clients should continually strive to better support LGBTQ+ employees all year round. While the LGBTQ+ community comprises nearly 10% of the U.S. population, they face disproportionate hardships at work. Here are five key benefits brokers can consider recommending to their clients to help them cultivate LGBTQ+-friendly workplaces.

With roughly 14 million U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+, the time is now for clients to become LGBTQ+-friendly employers. And while Pride Month falls in June, brokers can enable their clients to become more inclusive all year long by expanding the reach of accessible, affordable, and equitable benefits. Let’s explore what work may be like for LGBTQ+ employees and five benefits brokers can help clients offer to create a more supportive workplace.

The LGBTQ+ work experience

Before exploring which employee benefits may best support the LGBTQ+ workforce, it is important to discuss this community’s work experience and the various ways LGBTQ+ people enrich workplaces.

Proven positives

Hiring LGBTQ+ employees can offer numerous benefits to your clients’ businesses, including:

• Diverse perspectives: LGBTQ+ individuals bring unique perspectives and experiences to the workplace, which can foster innovation and creativity. This diversity can help clients better understand and serve a broader customer base.
• Improved talent acquisition and retention: By fostering an inclusive workplace culture, clients can attract top LGBTQ+ talent who may actively seek out employers with supportive policies. Additionally, an inclusive environment can improve employee morale and retention rates. For example, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 70% of LGBTQ+ staff are more likely to stay with their current employer due to its approach to LGBTQ+ inclusion, and 72% of LGBTQ+ allies are more likely to accept a position with an organization that supports LGBTQ+ workers.
• Increased market competitiveness: Companies that demonstrate a commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion can enhance their brand reputation and appeal to consumers who prioritize diversity and inclusivity. This can provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
• Boosted productivity: When employees feel valued, respected, and supported, they are more likely to be engaged and productive. Inclusive workplaces can foster a sense of belonging, leading to higher employee satisfaction and performance levels. Consider that the above U.S. Chamber of Commerce report found that more LGBTQ+-inclusive have 3% higher productivity levels than those that are less inclusive.

Bias battles

Despite the tremendous impact they have on their employers, many LGBTQ+ staff report facing bias at work. Deloitte recently surveyed nearly 5,500 LGBTQ+ people in various sectors and countries and discovered that while six in 10 LGTBQ+ staff say it’s important to be out at work, less than half are due to worries about being treated differently (39%), negative effects on career opportunities (26%), and personal safety (19%).

Additionally, the Human Rights Campaign found that:

• 46% of LGBTQ+ employees are closeted at work
• Over half of LGBTQ+ employees hear jokes about lesbian, gay, or queer people at least occasionally
• Nearly one-third of LGBTQ+ workers have felt unhappy or depressed at work
• 25% of LGBTQ+ employees feel distracted from their tasks when working in an unwelcome environment
• The top reason these employees don’t report negative comments is because they fear no action will be taken, and they don’t want to damage their professional relationships

Career challenges

Unfortunately, many LGBTQ+ employees have a more difficult time climbing the corporate ladder. Although these workers desire to become top executives just as much as their cisgender colleagues, McKinsey reports their actual representation in senior-level positions is much lower. For example, LGBTQ+ women comprise 2.3% of entry-level employees but only 1.6% of managers and even smaller percentages of higher-ranking positions.

Similarly, McKinsey found that transgender workers are more likely to be in entry-level positions than cisgender people of the same age, are less likely to have management, evaluation, or hiring responsibilities, and are more likely to believe their gender or sexual orientation is hindering their advancement.

5 LGBTQ+ employee benefits clients can provide

Today’s workforce is increasingly diverse, and LGBTQ+ workers face challenges that clients can help alleviate by offering the right benefits. Below are five benefits brokers can provide their clients to boost LGBTQ+ inclusion.

1. Financial wellness benefits

A recent survey of 1,000 LGBTQ+ U.S. adults by the Nationwide Retirement Institute found that approximately two-thirds live paycheck-to-paycheck. Many of these people also feel less prepared for retirement, investing, and estate planning than their straight counterparts. Clients can help narrow this divide by offering a 401(k) retirement plan with a company match, if possible, and financial wellness training sessions on investing, retirement planning, saving for college, and more.

2. Fair compensation

The inequity that LGBTQ+ employees face affects their paychecks, as well. The Human Rights Campaign analyzed data from a 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics report and found that LGBTQ+ workers make just 90% of what the typical worker earns. Furthermore, approximately one in five LGBTQ+ U.S. adults live in poverty, compared to just 16% of their cisgender and straight peers.

Clients can directly improve this disparity by conducting salary benchmarking, a process that compares internal pay and benefits with competitor offerings to ensure employees are receiving fair and equitable compensation. This project can be offloaded to the experts at a professional employer organization (PEO), who analyze market intelligence and statistical data to help clients determine salaries, reduce unequal salary disparities, and balance their budgets.

3. Family-forming support

Clients can make a big difference in their LGBTQ+ employees’ personal lives by offering family-building support. Many LGBTQ+ individuals and couples encounter difficulties having children, and the process can be expensive and stressful. A supportive family-forming benefit can relieve some of the burden by providing:

• Access to benefits experts, fertility clinicians, emotional counselors, and lawyers, as well as a dedicated care manager
• Discounted rates at select fertility clinics and adoption and surrogacy agencies
• Personalized care plans
• Prescription ordering and at-home delivery
• Support and educational resources for every stage of growing a family

4. Mental wellness benefits

Unfortunately, studies show that mental health issues affect the LGBTQ+ community more than the heterosexual population. According to the American Psychiatric Association, LGBTQ+ individuals are:

• More than twice as likely to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime
• 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and substance misuse
• Found to use mental health services more than their heterosexual counterparts

All these facts make it critical for clients to offer mental wellness benefits to their employees. By partnering with a PEO, brokers can enable clients to provide their staff access to an employee assistance program (EAP), telehealth care, and more.

5. Inclusive paid leave policies

Sometimes, existing policies have inequalities that clients are unaware of, and it’s advisable for them to review their handbook to ensure all policies are inclusive of their LGBTQ+ workers. Some policies to consider adding or updating are:

• Parental leave that does not exclude non-birth parents and does not discriminate based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status
• Caregiver leave that allows paid time off to care for domestic partners as well as the children of a domestic partner, regardless of biological or adoptive status
• Bereavement leave that includes the death of a domestic partner and the partner’s immediate family

Professional guidance to create positive change

Opportunities abound for clients to better support their LGBTQ+ employees both professionally and personally. A PEO, like ExtensisHR, can equip brokers with the knowledge and resources needed to help clients foster LGBTQ+-friendly workplaces. Partnering with a PEO means you can make inclusive health benefits more accessible, affordable, and equitable for those who need them the most.

PEOs provide various Fortune 500-level benefits to attract and retain LGBTQ+ talent, like 401(k) retirement plans, mental wellness benefits, and family-forming support. They also have dedicated human resources and compliance experts to assist clients with non-discrimination and paid leave policies. Finally, ExtensisHR’s DEI Dashboard can provide insight into potential pay disparities by delivering actionable data on pay equity, salary trends, promotions, and more.

Are your clients looking to create more LGBTQ+-friendly workplaces? Contact ExtensisHR today to discover how we can support.