Pride Network boosts advocacy, support for LGBTQIA+ staff
Everyone wants to feel accepted and treated with respect when they turn up for work, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. But not everyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ feels comfortable enough to be open with their colleagues about their sexuality or gender.
The 2024 Australian Workplace Equality Index Employee Survey shows that only 37% of employees with diverse sexuality are ‘out’ to all their colleagues, and only 32% of those with a diverse gender.
Negative social media and news reporting targeting LGBTQIA+ people was cited as the main reason almost 30% of sexually diverse people were not out; for gender diverse people the figure was 65%. Fear of being labelled or rejected by colleagues, or of experiencing
discrimination and negative career impacts were other reasons. However, companies such as Liberty have worked hard to create a safer, more inclusive environment for their LGBTQIA+ team members.
Liberty CEO James Boyle (pictured below) says Liberty is a driver for change and is passionate about creating an environment that celebrates the diverse community it serves.
“We established the Pride Network in 2019 to foster connection within our LGBTQIA+ community, help maintain an inclusive environment for identifying colleagues, and create a more supportive and equitable workplace for all,” says Boyle.
“It provides a meaningful space for LGBTQIA+ team members to network and provide peer support, as well as support the business in its strategic diversity and inclusion efforts.”
The non-bank lender acknowledges that ‘coming out’, particularly in the workplace, is a deeply personal decision, and Boyle says Liberty is incredibly grateful to the Pride Network for continuing to welcome new and existing staff.
“Working toward greater LGBTQIA+ awareness and advocacy is a key goal for Liberty, and our Pride Network helps to lead the way. Over the years, the Pride Network has grown and shaped our community through engagement, education, and awareness of dates of significance and social events.”
Liberty Pride Network activities
Boyle says visibility is important for creating an inclusive environment, and the Pride Network supports Liberty in increasing advocacy and awareness. The network hosts monthly meetings and regular workshops, education sessions, celebrations and social events for team members, their family and friends.
The workshops discuss a variety of topics – both professional and personal – to assist those who are looking for support, guidance or a sense of belonging and meaningful connection.
So far this year, the network has also celebrated Midsumma Festival, held an internal fundraising event for the Housing for the Aged Action Group, and hosted Olympic gold medallist Ellia Green OAM as a guest speaker for the Transgender Day of Visibility (pictured opposite).
The impact of Pride
Liberty’s chief people officer, Anne Bastian (pictured below), says team members often share how the efforts of the Pride Network have helped progress the company’s commitment to providing a safer and more inclusive environment for all.
“Network members have expressed how valuable the dedicated time and space has been to exploring issues and experiences specific to the LGBTQIA+ community,” Bastian says.
“While this is a great indicator that we’re on the right track, we know there is still much more important work to do in this space, and this is just the beginning.”
Allyship with LGBTQIA+ staff
Active allyship with LBGTQIA+ team members requires visibility and promotion, Bastian says. “One of the best ways to be an ally is to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ family, friends and colleagues, while also understanding our own privileges and biases.
“Liberty engages Working with Pride to offer ally training to all who wish to actively support our LGBTQIA+ community and champion inclusion for all community members.”
Bastian says fostering allyship and working closely with the Pride Network has helped Liberty develop a broader understanding of diversity and inclusion. “It has raised awareness of the individual and the collective benefits of truly being inclusive. The ultimate goal is to provide an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued, trusted and can be their authentic selves.”
Meeting the needs of all parents
Policy is an important factor in creating change, Bastian says, and Liberty continues to evolve its policies to better meet the needs of staff.
“Our paid parental leave policies are inclusive of LGBTQIA+ identifying parents, and all staff who will be parents to a newborn, adopted, surrogate or foster child.”
Earlier this year, Liberty introduced its new Early Childhood Support Policy. This outlines the non-bank’s commitment to supporting staff with the challenges and costs of early childhood.
The policy includes a childcare subsidy payment of up to $10,000 per annum to Liberty team members upon returning from parental leave, as well as school preparation support leave to help staff with children commencing primary school.
Bastian says Liberty also expanded its terms of paid parental leave to increase the number of weeks leave and remove the 12-months service eligibility requirement.
“These changes provide further support to the primary caregiver upon their return to work from parental leave, regardless of their gender or gender identity.”
Supporting trans and gender diverse staff
Bastian says everyone deserves equitable opportunities to succeed and belong, and Liberty takes conscious action to provide a fair and equal workplace to support every individual along their career journey.
“We’re proud to support transgender and gender diverse staff, and we offer flexible support for team members seeking to affirm their gender.
“We recognise that the process is different for everyone and provide up to 10 days of special leave to support those during their transition or affirmation. We also encourage all team members to display their personal pronouns in their email signatures as a simple, daily act of allyship.”
Liberty employs five LGBTQIA+ support officers and an additional 15 who are certified transgender and gender diverse support officers. Bastian says the role of a transgender and gender diverse support officer is to provide support throughout the recruitment process to ensure candidates receive consistent connection and their needs and preferences are advocated for.
All LGBTQIA+ support officers at Liberty have completed LGBTQIA+ inclusion training and have lived experiences or are trained allies with a good understanding of the sensitivities and challenges that LGBTQIA+ people face.
“These support officers are available to anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ or requires support relating to LGBTQIA+ grievances within the workplace,” Bastian says.
“They have received tailored training in LGBTQIA+ inclusion and are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQIA+ team members.”
Recruitment and retention
“We know first-hand at Liberty that a diverse and inclusive group leads to a happier, more productive team,” says Bastian. “By working to create an environment of trust, respect and inclusion, we positively impact staff attraction, engagement and retention.”
She says many factors contribute to an employee’s retention – at the heart of which is “feeling respected and valued as their true and authentic self ”.
“During our recruitment process we ensure allyship is visible for candidates. This includes on our application forms, in our reception area, via the Pride badges and lanyards worn by staff, or through staff proactively sharing their pronouns when conducting interviews.
“Our Pride Network plays a key role in orientation and onboarding of new community members to ensure that, from day one, colleagues are aware of the network and have knowledge of the community.”
