You Might Like
FTSE 100 companies not doing enough to promote their LGBT diversity claims
Research conducted by LGBTI business advocacy group OUTstanding has said that companies listed on the FTSE 100 are not outwardly committed to LGBTI diversity.
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 (FTSE 100) is a listing of the 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization.
OUTstanding, which publishes an annual listing of the top LGBT people in business, did a literature review of all the FTSE 100’s 2014 Annual Reports. It says that the companies concerned, although mentioning diversity, are not fully communicating their engagement with LGBT inclusion or offering details.
In particular, many are overlooking transgender employees completely, with 80% of the reports failing to mention non-discrimination policies for transgender staff.
Nearly half (47%) failed to mentioned policies for gay, lesbian or bisexual employees, and of those that did, only 14% went on to outline what these policies were.
At the same time as revealing the findings of its literature review, OUTstanding has also revealed findings from a survey it conducted of 200 LGBT executives in its member companies.
Of these, 62% said that LGBT issues at work have been publically discussed by their CEO, making it the second most discussed diversity issue after gender (reported by 78% of respondents).
Other key findings included 62% of respondents saying that they have a visible LGBT role model in their executive leadership team, but only 39% reporting a role model in the boardroom.
With regard to companies asking about staff diversity, just 47% of respondents said their companies ask LGBT-related questions, compared with 82% reporting measurement on gender, 65% ethnicity and 57% on disability.
Dr Neil Bentley, CEO of OUTstanding, said: ‘Lots of companies are failing to communicate their commitment to supporting LGBT employees at work, particularly to transgender people.
‘With so many businesses facing skills shortages, companies cannot afford to be complacent and should be using every opportunity to tell their story about inclusion to attract and retain the very best talent.
‘From my own experience, I know that there are many enlightened CEOs who value diversity. In fact, 62% of our members say LGBT issues have been publically discussed by their CEO. It’s vital that more businesses – including all those in the FTSE 100 – consider their attitude to LGBT inclusion as an asset, worth reporting.’
Commenting on the research, Emma Cusdin, the co-chair of trans*formation – a networking group for transgender people who work in the financial services industries in the city of London – said: ‘This ground breaking research from OUTstanding clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of our leading companies fail to provide even the most basic protection for trans people at work.
‘In 2015 this is a shocking statistic and a massive call to action for our FTSE 100 companies. Trans people are missing out on jobs and these companies are missing out on talented people.’
Image: Jack Torcello | CreativeCommons.org 2.0
The post FTSE 100 companies not doing enough to promote their LGBT diversity claims appeared first on Gay Star News.
David Hudson
You Might Like
