Results from a survey about LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion last 2021 led to the creation of a playbook
In a time when diversity is encouraged and progressiveness a trait admired, different companies publicly show their support for the LGBTQ+ community through policies. Times are changing for the better, after all. However, despite visible corporate support, today’s workplaces fall short of full inclusion. The Philippine Financial and Inter-industry Pride (PFIP) aims to remedy the situation by taking the fight for SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression, and Sex Characteristics) equality to the board rooms of the most influential private employers in the Philippines through the launch of a playbook.
In case you missed it: SOGIE Equality Bill: Everything You Need To Know—Supporters, Origins, And More
The PFIP Playbook for LGBT+ Inclusive Workplaces in the Philippines is a physical document of the changing times. Hard copies are for authenticity, and this book will lead the way to more wins in the future. According to Senator Risa Hontiveros, a keynote speaker for the launch last February 23 at Makati, 'cumulative wins are still wins.' This book is and will be of great help to the community.
"While the SOGIE Bill has not yet passed, let's push for smaller but cumulative wins such as workplace policies that ensure the guaranteed protection of everyone and the access to benefits like medical insurance for all," Senator Hontiveros exclaims.
The playbook allows organisations to reflect, find what they are doing right, be acquainted with their capacities and resources, and resolve what they can do more through interviews with more than 70 Pride leaders and advocates. With this book, PFIP members can self-learn and train themselves to drive genuine diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
"As a moral issue, individuals should be valued for who and what they are, and regarded and treated with equality, fairness, dignity, and respect regardless of their SOGIESC," says Dr Marie Villaceran, Deputy Director for Research and Publication at the University of the Philippines Center for Women & Gender Studies (UPCWGS).
The playbook shows three concrete steps to start the journey towards an inclusive workplace. First, assess your pride by checking your workplace climate. Pride means the integral cultural concept within the community representing "solidarity, collectivity, and identity as well as resistance to discrimination and violence", according to a study by the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). After this assessment, secure support from your respective executive teams. Then finally, you can develop your pride strategy.
Several suggestions are then inscribed, showing how to take action and scale these all up. It is essential to remember that inclusion doesn't end in the four walls of the workplace but should extend to the relationships organisations and companies forge among them.
The playbook wouldn't be completed without the help of UPCWGS and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands.
For more information, please visit the PFIP website or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@pfippride).