Build Solidarity Within & Beyond Your LGBTQIA+ ERG this Bi+ Awareness Week
Did you know that tomorrow is National Bisexual Visibility Day? Learn more about what this day means for your workplace and its broader DEIB commitments.
Did you know that tomorrow is National Bisexual Visibility Day? The day offers a chance to amplify the lived experiences of Bi+ (bisexual, pansexual, and queer) voices. It also encourages you to learn more about the specific workplace barriers endured by your Bi+ colleagues, along with what you can do to help upend them.
Bi+ people make up more than half (54.6%) of LGBTQIA+ adults living in the United States. When it comes to the workplace, Bi+ people are the silent majority of the current LGBTQIA+ workforce. Tragically, a recent study found:
38% of Bi+ people aren’t out to anyone on the job compared to only 18% of lesbian and gay people who are not out.
Bi+ people are less likely to self-report their sexual orientation in anonymous, confidential HR surveys, making it difficult to identify their specific needs.
Bi+ people are less likely to have someone at work acknowledge their sexual orientation in a positive way.
Bi+ people with different-gender partners are often just assumed to be straight and therefore, their Bi+ identity is completely erased.
Given the large number of Bi+ adults in the workplace, it’s critical that your broader DEIB commitments are inclusive of this group’s specific needs. You can begin with your LGBTQIA+ ERG (if your organization has one). Current members are encouraged to intentionally include and welcome Bi+ colleagues, given that Bi+ erasure is very real and often leads to less resources, opportunities, allies, and support.
To inspire and guide your efforts in building a Bi+ inclusive workplace, I am proud to share this powerful Imagine Belonging podcast interview with Fiona Dawson, Emmy®-nominated Filmmaker. The interview was intended to celebrate Bi+ Visibility Day!
Fiona is a proud bisexual, cisgender, immigrant woman from the LGBTQIA+ community, and she is the founder and director of Free Lion Productions, where she and her team create content to make diversity, equity, and inclusion programs work. She has received many notable awards including President Obama’s LGBT Artist Champion of Change for her Emmy®-nominated short, Transgender, at War and in Love, and the 2018 SXSW Audience Award for her documentary, TransMilitary.
Together, Fiona and I offer a conversation intended to support DEIB professionals, along with other inclusive leaders, build stronger and psychologically safer teams across differences. Listeners like you will gain a deeper appreciation of the many dynamic cultures that exist within LGBTQIA+ communities, including workplace employee resource groups (ERGs).
Topics explored include:
Fiona’s bestselling book, Are Bisexuals Just Greedy? Animated Answers for All People Who Simply Want to Understand the Spectrum of Being LGBTQ+.
Learning how to engage the silent majority within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Recognizing the power of LGBTQIA+ solidarity within ERGs and what gets in the way.
Fiona’s vision for the future of work.
Savor this insightful talk, and if you’re looking for more ways to connect with inspiring leaders like Fiona, be sure to join the Belonging Membership Community – a community of leaders committed to advancing their DEIB goals while practicing community care. Members have the unique opportunity to engage with our guests 1:1 after our podcast recordings where they can participate in a private Q&A session with our guest.
***
To learn more about the Belonging Membership Community, please visit: www.belongingmembershipcommunity.com.
For more resources on what you need to know to build more safety, trust, and belonging for your Bi+ colleagues, check out this great Out & Equal Resource.