Bringing Your Authentic Self to the Workplace

By Jared Worful, Deputy Director, Channel Marketing, Pharmaceuticals Division, Bayer U.S.

When you start a new job or take on a new role, what do you think about?

Your list likely includes some of the following:

· Where is the job located?

· Which towns have the best schools?

· What will my commute to be like?

· Will the job provide work-life balance?

· What are the benefits?

And perhaps you even wondered about the company culture:

· Do employees talk about their families?

· Is it acceptable to have personal photos at my desk?

· Are spouses invited to company events?

The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community considers the same questions, but with an additional dimension:

· Will I face discrimination for bringing my authentic self into the workplace?

If you’re a non-LGBT individual, the last question may have surprised you. As reported by PRRI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, two-thirds of polled Americans “erroneously believe that it is illegal at the federal level […] for a business to fire or deny someone a job (67%) […] because the individual is [LGBT].” Due to the lack of federal protections, many states have taken on the effort of ensuring their citizens are protected from unfair discrimination. Yet in 26 states, LGBT individuals can still be fired for who they are or who they love.

The lack of individual protections can have a direct impact on attracting top talent and corporations have set out to ensure their employees are protected in the workplace. 85% of Fortune 500 employers, including Bayer, have instituted policies that provide workplace protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation (see page 5 in the report).

Bayer Supports the Equality Act

To address the lack of consistent protections, the Equality Act (H.R. 5) was introduced in 2019 to amend existing civil rights laws to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics at a federal level. Many corporations have expressed their support for these updates to the civil rights laws. Bayer and BLEND, Bayer’s Business Resource Group for LGBT+ employees and their allies, have partnered to proactively and publicly support the Equality Act, including lobbying on behalf of the legislation this past March.

Business Resource Groups (BRGs) are voluntary, company sponsored groups of employees who work together to promote cultural diversity, awareness, and education and are key partners in Bayer’s efforts to cultivate an inclusive environment and to engage employees around critical Inclusion & Diversity objectives.

I traveled to DC recently with some of my Bayer Public Affairs colleagues to meet with key legislators from Missouri to share why Bayer supports the Equality Act. Almost one-third of Bayer U.S. employees are located in Missouri, a state which does not currently provide any state level protections against LGBT discrimination. We had the opportunity to meet with some of the legislation’s supporters to thank them and with critics to express why the legislation hinders Bayer’s ability to attract and retain talent.

Seeing Bayer consistently do what is right for employees, their families and the communities where we live makes me proud to be a Bayer employee.

Will you support the Equality Act? Visit the HRC State Equality Index to learn more about the protections provided to LGBT+ individuals in your state.