Five things employers can do right now to make LGBTQIA+ employees feel welcome

During the month of July, Disability Pride Month, we want to focus on action. Because while the data on LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion, including those living with a disability, it is important to understand what matters most is what we do with it.

The good news is that creating a genuinely inclusive workplace does not have to be overwhelming. There are practical, evidence-based steps that any employer can take, starting today. Here are five of them.

1. Build a culture, not just a policy

Policies are a starting point, not a finish line. What makes the real difference is culture, the everyday behaviours, norms and expectations that shape how people experience work.

Think about how new employees are welcomed, what language is used in team meetings, whether leadership talks openly about inclusion, and how people are treated when they raise a concern. These are the moments that build or erode trust, and they matter for every employee, including those who are LGBTQIA+ or living with disability.

2. Make leadership visible

Leaders set the tone for everyone around them. When a manager uses correct pronouns and names, speaks up when someone is excluded and demonstrates genuine openness, it signals to the whole team what is acceptable and what is not.
For LGBTQIA+ employees with disability, visible leadership can be especially significant. Knowing that the person at the top of the team actively supports them across all aspects of their identity, not just one, makes a real difference to how safe they feel.

3. Create reporting pathways people actually trust

A reporting pathway only works if people believe something will happen when they use it. Build trust by being consistent, communicating clearly about outcomes and following through every time.

For LGBTQIA+ people with disability, accessible reporting matters in a practical sense too. Make sure your reporting processes are physically and digitally accessible, and that people can choose how they raise a concern without having to disclose more than they are comfortable with.

4. Design inclusion to account for multiple identities

One of the most powerful shifts an employer can make is moving from siloed inclusion, a disability program here, an LGBTQIA+ initiative there, to an approach that recognises people as whole human beings.

Ask yourself: if someone in your team is both LGBTQIA+ and living with disability, do your inclusion programs speak to their full experience? Are your employee networks connected? Do your support services work for someone navigating both?

LGBTQIA+ people are statistically more likely to live with disability or a mental health condition, so this is not a niche consideration, it is a practical one that affects a meaningful portion of any diverse workforce.

5. Measure, learn and improve

Inclusion is not something you set and forget. The workplaces that do it well are the ones that keep checking in, through surveys, conversations and data, and then use what they learn to keep improving.

When collecting data on inclusion, make sure to consider people at the intersection of multiple identities. Knowing that 80% of your team feel included is valuable, but understanding how that breaks down for LGBTQIA+ employees or those with disability gives you the insight to act where it really counts.

Every one of these steps is within reach. And each one sends a message to LGBTQIA+ employees, including those living with disability, that they belong, that their employer has thought about them, and that it has chosen to act.

At CoAct, we support people from LGBTQIA+ communities, people with disability and those navigating both, to find employers who are genuinely committed to inclusion. We also work with employers to help them build more diverse, welcoming and effective teams.

Talk to us about how CoAct can help.