COMMENT It’s June and that can mean only one thing… it’s time to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and queer communities across the world. The “Rainbow tornado” has landed in our cities and organisations are standing tall with the Pride Progress flags to let customers, clients and partners know they are supportive of LGBTQ+ community.
Usually, I find this time of year such a vibrant and wonderful celebration of our community. However, as a gay man, the past few years have started to feel very different.
There has been an increase in hate crime and subsequent incidents, rollback on legislation designed to protect our human rights and the debate on gender identity is causing harm, particularly on social media.
Limited improvements
Attitudinal studies are showing limited improvements and in some areas seeing regression, for example in media representation, where a recent survey found that British members of the public believed there were too many LGBTQ+ people and minorities on TV. I play rugby for one of the longest-running LGBTQ+ inclusive rugby teams in the world, The Kings Cross Steelers, and this year I have seen an upswing in pitch-side homophobic abuse. All of this is has culminated to me personally feeling not as “safe” as I might have done just a few years ago.
I feel less confident about what streets I might hold a partner’s hand down and I might question if coming out at work is the right thing to do. I don’t think I am alone in this feeling. And that is why I have also been passionate about the importance of inclusion.
When I step through the doors of my workplace, I don’t want to be worrying about how my sexuality may be perceived. That can be hugely draining. It matters across the real estate industry because there are LGBTQ+ people working and thriving in this sector.
As a sector, we have a great ability to support our clients to create workplaces that are inclusive, innovative and drive productivity, especially where everyone can feel included and their best, true self.
It is why we launched a Coming Out at CBRE Guide that told every LGBTQ+ person we are an organisation for them. At CBRE we have heavily invested in our environments, education and celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community because we recognise the importance this plays for our own LGBTQ+ people, allies and families.
Other actions we have taken include reviewing key policies to be inclusive. Examples include terms such as “chosen family”, recognising that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be estranged from biological families. We also changed terms such as paternity/maternity leave to be parent and partner leave to recognise the changes in families. We reviewed our benefits to ensure that same-sex partners could be supported with health benefits and included gender-affirming support in recognition of the long waiting times for support in the NHS.
Our Proud Network champions lots of initiatives throughout the year that support, educate and develop allies to be active in the workplace. We partner with LGBTQ+ organisations such as Stonewall and OutBritain, investing in expertise and adding value to our clients through a diverse supply chain.
Pride started as a protest and we continue to see the need for allyship and standing firm to protect all rights for LGBTQ+ people, but Pride is also a celebration and a great opportunity to show how inclusive our workplaces can be.
Celebrating Pride
Last year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Pride in London, I set the ambitious challenge to show that any office can become a bold space for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
What better way than to take over our office and run a drag bingo event. We knew we were taking on a challenge here, first of all ensuring that we were creating the LGBTQ+ inclusive environment and secondly, firmly showing that an office was a place for LGBTQ+ people to be seen.
Our café at Henrietta House was full of community, allies and leaders all coming together to be proud and celebrate. The event pushed many people’s boundaries but also filled many with a new sense of pride both for the community and CBRE.
James Brandon is DE&I and responsible business manager at CBRE
