Welcome to the fourth WE'RE EQUAL member resource update.
As a registered member of WE’RE EQUAL, you receive email alerts from Equal Opportunity SA with direct links to practical resources. These resources are designed to support you and your business as you continue your commitment to anti-discrimination in your workplace.
With the forecast for Adelaide this Saturday at a balmy 25 degrees and no rain, it’s perfect weather for Adelaide’s Pride March and the lead up to the start of Feast, Adelaide’s LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural festival. We thought we would help celebrate this important month for the LGBTQIA+ community with a Member Update focus on LGBTQIA+ resources.
What does it all mean?
‘LGBTQIA+’ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and gender diverse, Queer and questioning, Intersex, and Asexual, and the + indicates that sexuality and gender expression is a spectrum and does not have defined boundaries.
The phrase ‘LGBTQIA+’ is inclusive of gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
What is protected under the Equal Opportunity Act?
The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA) makes it unlawful to treat someone unfairly because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status.
As of October 2022, 77% of trans and gender diverse people in Australia report that they had been treated unfairly because of their gender identity in the past 12 months (Trans and Gender Diverse Identities | IDAHOBIT).
As of December 2022, 58% of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Australia report that they had been treated unfairly because of their sexual identity in the past 12 months (Gay and Lesbian Identities | IDAHOBIT).
How WE’RE EQUAL members can help support the LGBTQIA+ community
For businesses and organisations outside the LGBTQIA+ community, it can be unclear how to show support to your customers and workers. Here are a few tips:
Do not assume that a customer, client or employee is heterosexual: avoid using gendered terms like ‘wife/husband’, ‘girlfriend/boyfriend’, but instead opt for non-gendered terms such as ‘partner’.
When engaging in conversation about gender or sexuality, avoid talking about preferences or choices. It is simply how people are.
Do not use terms related to gender identity or sexuality in a derogatory or negative way, i.e. using the word ‘gay’ with a negative connotation.
Gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, physical attraction, and emotional attraction are all concepts that are distinct from one another, and can be different (The difference between gender sex and sexuality | ReachOut Australia).
Use pronouns appropriately:
- A person’s pronouns can change over time.
- Sharing your own pronouns normalises the subject.
- If someone indicates that they use more than one pronoun (e.g. they/she), this is an invitation to use any of these options, with the pronoun listed first usually signalling the one they prefer.
(A Guide To Using Pronouns At Work | IDAHOBIT)
What can my workers and I do if we see someone being harassed or discriminated against?
There are many things that you or your workers can safely do to intervene if you see someone being discriminated against.
Bystander intervention:
https://www.equalopportunity.sa.gov.au/documents/were-equal/Equal-Opportunity-SA_Active-Bystander-Poster_A4.pdf
Resources
Below are resources gathered from a range of sources to help your business or organisation be a welcoming and positive environment for members of the LGBTQIA+ community:
LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Communication: Tips for Service Workers
https://dhs.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/136226/LGBTIQA-Tips-for-service-workers_Fact-Sheet.pdf.
How to be an active ally for LGBTQIA+ people (Victorian Government, 2022)
https://www.vic.gov.au/how-be-active-ally-lgbtiq-people.
LGBTIQ Inclusive Language Guide
Designed for the Victorian Public Sector, this guide offers tips and information on how to use language respectfully and inclusively when working with and referring to LGBTIQ people.
https://content.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-06/LBGTIQ-Inclusive-Language-Guide.pdf.
Trans @ Work: a guide for trans and gender diverse employees, their employers and colleagues (Queensland Human Rights Commission, 2019)
https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/20603/QHRC_TransAtWork.pdf.
Happy Pride!
Pride March: Saturday 28 October https://www.prideadelaide.org
Feast Festival: 1-19 November https://feast.org.au