Welcome to LGBTQ+ for Dummies
-- Part 4 -- Do new DEI initiatives make it easier for LGBTQ+ community to get hired?
It's PRIDE month and we're celebrating and learning more about the LGBTQ+ community. And as a straight white male, I thought it fitting that I'd ask the uncomfortable questions many of us are afraid to ask. To answer these questions we have special guest expert Michelle Raymond from myGwork, a LinkedIn-like platform for the LGBTQ+ community, who will be droppin' the knowledge.
Listen and Learn!
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LGBTQ+ INTRO (42s):
Welcome to LGBTQ plus for Dummies part three. It's Pride month, and we're celebrating and learning more about the LGBTQ plus community. And as a straight white dude, I thought it might be fitting that I would ask the uncomfortable questions many of us are afraid to ask. To answer these questions we have special guest expert, Michelle Raymond from My G Work, a LinkedIn like platform for the LGBTQ plus community. She will be dropping the knowledge. Let's do this.
Chad (1m 26s):
Thanks for joining us again, Michelle, let's jump into question number four. This one comes from Raelynn in Tupelo, Mississippi. Raelynn writes in a heightened diversity equity and inclusion environment are LGBTQ plus more likely to be hired than regular old straights like me?
Michelle (1m 48s):
Well, I think it's a great question. And the short answer is no. So let's break it down just a little bit. There's a thing called the closet, which I'm sure you're aware of where LGBT people come out, but there's also a thing called the corporate closet. And so this is a real thing. We're talking more than half of LGBTQ plus individuals who are out in their day to day life choose to go back in the closet when it comes through the workplace.
Chad (2m 13s):
Wow.
Michelle (2m 13s):
So you ask yourself why? well, number one, hiring. Gay job applicants are 40% less likely to be interviewed. Okay. So one that's a barrier. Two imagine you do get hired and now you're in talks about salary. Gay men and gay applicants earn 10 to 32% less than heterosexual male colleagues with similar qualifications. Now keep in mind, there's still a gender pay gap. So at being a lesbian and a woman to that matrix and you're earning even less. And then the last thing is of course, depending on where you are in the world, employees can be legally fired for being LGBTQ. So I know that's not the case in the US but we're talking over a hundred countries around the world where you can be fired just for being, and loving someone, whoever you want.
Chad (2m 59s):
Wow. So would you think that social media background checks that we're starting to see more of today actually impact that issue even more because we know more about each other socially because of social media than we did before. Do you think those meet those background checks and also friending people that you work with actually impacts those numbers?
Michelle (3m 23s):
I think so. That's my personal opinion, but I've talked to many hiring managers in my line of work, and some of them have actually recognized that doing those types of checks have caused bias in their hiring decisions. And so I've seen actually the reverse effect happening people are looking less and less and less into your social or your digital fingerprint, because they would just want to know if you're a good fit for the job and remove any sort of unconscious bias that they may be harboring and not even be aware of.
Chad (3m 51s):
That's amazing. Well, once again, Michelle Raymond from My G Work, Michelle, I want to give you a huge thank you for once again, to be there and to answer those questions for us. Again, Michelle Raymond from My G Work, thank you so much for joining us and being a part of this on Pride month.
Michelle (4m 9s):
Thank you so much. Happy Pride Month everyone! And if you have a question, don't be afraid to ask there's members of the community, including myself that have questions on a daily basis. So this is a learning activity. So thank you for having me to share some, you know, maybe some insights with you that might be new.
Chad (4m 24s):
We out.
Michelle (4m 25s):
Thank you. I appreciate it.
1 (4m 50s):
Thank you to Michelle and the crew over at My G Work for participating in LGBTQ plus for Dummies, a pride special podcast series from the Chad and Cheese, HR's most dangerous podcast. Check us out@chadcheese.com and subscribe on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, or wherever you listen to podcasts.