{"id":11011,"date":"2020-12-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=11011"},"modified":"2020-12-06T12:24:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T17:24:58","slug":"being-out-in-a-professional-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2020\/12\/09\/being-out-in-a-professional-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Out in a Professional Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I came out at 15. When I came out, I was attending a high school in a progressive neighborhood that had an openly gay principal, and I had multiple gay teachers. I never felt scared to show up as myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I attend the University of Florida, a southern school with a primarily white, cisgender and heterosexual population. I\u2019m studying public relations. I have not had a single professor that was gay. There\u2019s nothing wrong with this except that I no longer have anyone to turn to when I feel lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days, I feel like I\u2019m responsible for leading the conversation on the LGBTQ+ community in the public relations department. And most days, I don\u2019t feel like doing that. I love diversity work and I love speaking on behalf of my community, however, I refuse to be pigeonholed because I am much more than my sexuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LGBTQ+ Employees Face Discriminatory Laws and Policies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the Human Rights Campaign<\/a>, 46% of LGBTQ+ employees are closeted at work and 53% report hearing jokes about lesbian or gay people at least once in a while. The Trump-Pence administration said anti-discrimination protections under Title VII do not apply to transgender people. The Department of Justice filed an amicus brief arguing that federal non-discrimination protections do not protect LGB people on the basis of sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LGBTQ+ people are scared to be out in professional environments. And it wouldn\u2019t matter if relationship and family topics weren\u2019t so prevalent in everyday conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Make LGBTQ+ Employees Feel Safe<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Always introduce yourself with your pronouns.<\/em> Not only does it signal to transgender and non-binary individuals that they can share their pronouns, but it also signals to LGB people that they\u2019re in a safe place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee resource groups<\/em><\/a> help talent retention. <\/em>When LGBTQ+ employees can advocate for one another, and have the support of upper-level management, they can work to shift the workplace culture by educating peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normalize queer language.<\/em> The terms \u201csignificant other\u201d and \u201cpartner\u201d are regularly used when referring to LGBTQ+ relationships. If topics on relationships and family come up, and it makes sense to do so, don\u2019t be afraid to ask your queer workers about their life. Too often queer individuals are looked over during these conversations simply because people are afraid to say the wrong thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you do say the wrong thing, don\u2019t get awkward and excessively apologize.<\/em> I won\u2019t speak on behalf of all LGBTQ+ people, but I want queer identities to be normalized. If you make a mistake, correct yourself, and move on with the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t make assumptions and don\u2019t be too nosy.<\/em> A good rule of thumb: If you wouldn\u2019t ask a straight, cisgender person about that aspect of their life, don\u2019t ask a queer person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underrepresented communities are finally getting the attention they deserve. Once the diversity box is checked off, inclusion becomes the main priority<\/a>. It\u2019s easy to hire a member from a marginalized group and call it diversity, but implementing culture shifts within organizations is critical for inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rayna van Beuzekom is a second-year public relations student at the University of Florida. She serves as the vice president of diversity, inclusion and opportunity for the UF PRSSA Chapter. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0@raynacosette<\/a>\u00a0and connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came out at 15. When I came out, I was attending a high school in a progressive neighborhood that had an openly gay principal, and I had multiple gay teachers. I never felt scared to show up as myself. Now, I attend the University of Florida, a southern school with a primarily white, cisgender and heterosexual population. I\u2019m studying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":11012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2893],"tags":[2759,3309,3314,3316,2386,3313,3315],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t