Supporting LGBT talent overseas

A report by Nicoll Curtin Senior Appointments points out that if employers don’t encourage LGBT employees to take up overseas assignments or offer them adequate support, businesses could be missing out on essential leadership talent in the future
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 | By Colin Cottell

FROM DECEMBER 2015'S RECRUITER MAGAZINE

A report by Nicoll Curtin Senior Appointments points out that if employers don’t encourage LGBT employees to take up overseas assignments or offer them adequate support, businesses could be missing out on essential leadership talent in the future

Despite discrimination and downright hostility to lesbian gay bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) people in many parts of the world, employers should allow same sex partners to accompany their employees on international assignments in exactly the same way as they allow partners of heterosexual employees. 

That is just one of the recommendations of a white paper by Nicoll Curtin Senior Appointments, the international IT recruiter’s executive search division.  

The report entitled ‘Diversity & Globalisation: Supporting diverse talent overseas’, argues that in a world in which male homosexuality is still illegal in 80 countries and female homosexuality illegal in 49, employers need to do more to support and encourage LGBT talent to take up overseas assignments. 

Ashleigh Clowes, co-head diversity & inclusion and researcher at Nicoll Curtin Senior Appointments and author of the report, tells Recruiter: “International experience is becoming an important prerequisite for leadership roles, and organisations risk losing talented LGBT employees if they feel they are not offered or supported in pursuing international development opportunities.”

The report recognises that while across much of Europe, North America and Oceania, legislation and societal attitudes to LGBT people have changed out of all recognition in the last few decades, in many other parts of the world LGBT people face discrimination, negative attitudes, even physical danger and death. 

Even in countries where legal protections are in place, the report says that LGBT employees may find that attitudes towards them “are still highly negative”. It highlights Russia, Uganda, Nigeria and Malaysia as being particularly hostile. 

However, the report argues that the benefits of a supportive approach for both organisations and their LGBT staff are huge. These include a happier more productive and skilled workforce, better business outcomes that come from deploying the best person to the job irrespective of their sexuality, higher staff retention, and enhanced reputation as an employer of choice among talented LGBT candidates.

Among a range of practical suggestions (see Power Points, p18) made in the white paper, perhaps one of the most important is that organisations identify ‘Global Champions’. These are individuals within organisations who can drive change by making the all-important link between inclusive diversity policies and driving those policies on the ground.  

“Leaders, allies, sponsors and role models can encourage change with everything from conversations over dinner, 

to expressing their support while collaborating with colleagues, to articulating the business case for gay equality with local senior business leaders, officials and policymakers,” says Clowes.   

The report emphasises the importance of not automatically assuming that LGBT employees are not interested in taking up international assignments even in countries that might be considered hostile or even dangerous. And employers should support their staff’s decisions, whatever they might be. “It is equally important to support LGBT employees in saying ‘no’. In doing so organisations will retain the best and most diverse talent, regardless of sexuality,” says Clowes. 

Clowes goes on to explain that when an LGBT Nicoll Curtin employee turns down an opportunity in its Singapore office because of their sexuality, the company tries to offer them an equivalent position in Zurich or London.  

In addition to practical measures, the report illustrates how companies can use their ‘economic clout’ to influence governments. It notes how in Singapore, for example, where homosexual male sex is punishable with up to two years’ imprisonment, Google and Barclays are stepping up support for Singapore’s annual gay rights event. The report quotes Lord Browne, ex-BP chief executive and prominent out businessman, who explains in his book The Glass Closet how this sort of action can “send a strong message to governments who understand the importance of international companies for job creation and the economy”.

While true and unfettered global mobility of international organisations’ LGBT staff remains some way off, the message of this report is that unless international organisations want to lose out on the benefits of having the best LGBT talent, they must both support those individuals and their partners, and be prepared to stand up for the policies they espouse.

POWER POINTS

  1. A global diversity and inclusion policy, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexuality, sends an important message to both employees and governments around the world.
  2. Global polices on LGBT staff need to be calibrated; for example, by taking into account that in some cultures discussing personal issues of any kind in the workplace is taboo, and recognising the need for a more subtle approach.
  3. Don’t assume that LGBT staff do not wish to take up appointments even in hostile or dangerous environments. 
  4. Support LGBT employees in whatever decision they come to about accepting or turning down an international assignment.
  5. Allow same sex partners to accompany LGBT assignees in exactly the same way as heterosexual assignees.  
  6. In jurisdictions where same sex partners are not recognised and visas refused, think about ‘creative solutions’ — for example, allow the LGBT employee more flexibility to travel home to see their partner. 
  7. If an LGBT employee turns down an assignment offer them a suitable alternative.
  8. Establish and support LGBT networks as a way to help LGBT employees overseas feel less isolated.
  9. Don’t ‘out’ LGBT staff on overseas assignments. This could compromise their safety and have an adverse effect on their relationships with clients and colleagues, particularly in conservative countries.

 

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Gary Goldsmith and Dean Kelly are the founding partners of the Recruitment Directors Lunch Club (RDLC). Contact them @RDLC_PIRATES on Twitter

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