OUTstanding IRELAND
OUTstanding Ireland was launched a year ago to help ensure workplaces continue to be diverse, inclusive and welcoming places where everyone can flourish
Progress on LGBT openness in the workplace
These businesses are unlocking the benefits associated with LGBT+ inclusion such as higher productivity, cognitive diversity and attracting and retaining top talent
According to Matthew Riley, communications manager for OUTstanding in London, the response to the launch of the organisation in Ireland has been “phenomenal”, with dozens of businesses pledging their support, including Aer Lingus, Bank of Ireland and many others.
“Irish businesses from a wide range of sectors are prioritising LGBT+ inclusion in their company policies,” he says. “These businesses are unlocking the benefits associated with LGBT+ inclusion such as higher productivity, cognitive diversity and attracting and retaining top talent.”
Ireland was the fourth-highest contributing country of role models to the 2018 OUTstanding lists. “We’ve seen some clear advances in the past year, with more Irelandbased LGBT+ and ally role models speaking out,” says Riley. “It was also hugely significant to see An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sharing his own experiences of LGBT+ inclusion at our recent launch event.
“We have expanded our Dublin-based team to support growing local membership. Most importantly, we have created a community of influential leaders who are driving LGBT+ inclusion across Ireland and are helping create a pipeline of diverse LGBT+ talent.”
LEADERSHIP ROLE
Margot Slattery, country president of services company Sodexo Ireland, is chair of the OUTstanding Ireland steering committee. She appears at number 9 on the list of Top 100 LGBT+ Executives for 2018, which forms part of the recently published global OUTstanding LGBT+ Role Models 2018 list.
“Creating a culture where everyone feels comfortable to bring their whole selves to work is all of our responsibility,” she says. “While I am honoured to be included here as a role model, it’s important to remember that every single one of us has a part to play in making the workplace more inclusive and successful.”
There is a real need for organisations to support business in Ireland in terms of promoting LGBT+ inclusion and OUTstanding Ireland fills that space, in Slattery’s view.
It has gone from just having a couple of members to around 26 member companies. Between this year and last year it has held about 20 events, focusing on role modelling, development, training and networking.
Slattery says the difference now compared to when she started her career in the 1990s is like night and day.
“I wouldn’t have dreamt of sharing about myself back then and hid everything. The company I worked for was no worse than others. It wasn’t that they were bad employers, just that LGBT people felt they had to keep their sexual orientation to themselves.
“OUTstanding is helping organisations, whatever their size, to become suitable and comfortable places for LGBT people to come out.
“It is about giving the right signals and visibly demonstrating that the environment is inclusive. There are challenges as workplace bullying and discrimination still exist, but we have come an awfully long way in Ireland.”
GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
In the past year, Slattery has spoken at 19 external events in Ireland and worldwide, promoting LGBT equality in the workplace to over 5,000 people. These have included the Out & Out Equal Summit in Philadelphia, the Alliance Conference in Portugal and the Women’s Philanthropy Circle in Dublin. In 2018, she was FM Leader of the Year at the Facilities Management Awards for Ireland and Business Leader of the Year at the Women’s Executive Network Ireland Awards.
Slattery sits on Sodexo’s global LGBT leadership team and has been influential in ensuring LGBT considerations are included in Sodexo’s global diversity and inclusion strategy.
“Sodexo recognises that it has a diverse workforce of 420,000 people in 80 countries, 3,700 of whom are based in Ireland and Northern Ireland,” says Slattery. “It is written into our global strategy that people can be themselves and bring their whole selves to work.”
Each country does its own thing while still following the global strategy. In Ireland, Sodexo’s diversity and inclusion strategy covers seven different areas, including rights for members of the Traveller community.
“It has become part and parcel of what we do to train and develop people to help them to understand the needs of different groups,” Slattery explains. “In Ireland we look at a range of issues such as different generations working together, ethnicity and challenges around mental health. All of the strands are built into our HR policies, terms and conditions so they are tangible for people.”
As far as Slattery is concerned, best practice in this area for any company is to first of all have a policy and strategy and make sure that this is a real lived experience for employees.
“LGBT is very much about visibility. It is so important for leaders to communicate their attitude – for example, by being upfront and wearing a lanyard at an event,” she says.
“So many of us spend long hours in busy, challenging jobs. When people can be authentic during those hours they are much more likely to develop and advance. This in turn delivers a better bottom line for their employers.”