The Health Policy Project ended in 2016. Work continued under Health Policy Plus (HP+) until 2022.
Gender and Sexual Diversity Resources: Module 2
Module 1
Module 2
Module 3
Module 4Module 2: Concepts and Terminology
To ensure that diversity and inclusion are supported in the workplace and development programs, employers and staff need to have a comprehensive understanding of gender and sexual diversity (GSD) concepts and terminology. In module 2, participants explore and discuss these in order to identify actions that can contribute to making workplace environments welcoming and affirming spaces. This knowledge also contributes to the impact of programs that address GSD.
Diversity and Inclusion in the Workforce
The following resources provide a conceptual framework to understand diversity and support inclusion in the workplace and programs.
Business Case for Diversity with Inclusion
http://workforcediversitynetwork.com/docs/business_case_3.pdf
Highlighted from the US case study: "Recruiting, retaining, and promoting diverse employees are critical to a corporation's success in this evolving marketplace. These efforts must be carefully planned, nurtured, and measured to ensure success." This document provides a business case for diversity in workplace settings and offers unique insights specifically related to gender and sexual minorities.
Documented Evidence of Employment Discrimination & Its Effects on LGBT People
http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Sears-Mallory-Discrimination-July-20111.pdf
This review excerpts key findings from two recent reports providing evidence of discrimination in the work place. The Executive Summary states that, "Although sexual orientation and gender identity have no relationship to workplace performance, during the past four decades a large body of research using a variety of methodologies has consistently documented high levels of discrimination against…[LGBT] people at work."
The Business Impact of LGBT-Supportive Policies
http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Business-Impact-of-LGBT-Policies-May-2013.pdf
As put forth in the introduction, "The 'business case for diversity' suggests that…diversity in the workplace will lead to lower costs and/or higher revenues, improving the bottom line. Not surprisingly, employers have considered the economic benefits of adding…LGBT-supportive policies, including sexual orientation and gender-identity nondiscrimination policies and domestic partner benefits policies."
Video Resources
You can click the title to watch the video here, or follow the link to open on TED. Title and descriptions reflect those available on TED at the time of posting.
- A Family Tree for Humanity
This TED Talk by geneticist Spencer Wells speaks about how his Genographic Project will use this shared DNA to figure out how we are — in all our diversity — truly connected. All humans share some common bits of DNA, passed down to us from our African ancestors and Wells expands on this idea.
http://www.ted.com/talks/spencer_wells_is_building_a_family_tree_for_all_humanity - The Danger of a Single Story
Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice—and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
Workplace Best Practices
The following resources highlight best practices in implementing organizational policies that help create an inclusive work environment.
Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces: Engaging Organizations and Individuals in Change
http://catalyst.org/knowledge/building-lgbt-inclusive-workplaces-engaging-organizations-and-individuals-change
This report describes the workplace experiences of…LGBT employees and supports the development of programs and practices that leverage diversity, foster inclusion, and increase awareness, accountability, and action. While protecting employees from discrimination…organizations must [also] move discourse beyond anti-discrimination policies to everyday issues facing LGBT employees.
Diversity & Inclusion: Guidance Regarding the Employment of Transgender Individuals in the Federal Workplace
http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/diversity-and-inclusion/reference-materials/gender-identity-guidance/
The purpose of this [U.S.] memorandum is not to address legal rights and remedies, but instead to provide guidance to address some of the common questions that agencies have raised with OPM [Office of Personnel Management] regarding the employment of transgender individuals in the federal workplace.
Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Inclusion: Advocating Change Across Contexts
http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/global-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-inclusion-advocating-change-across-contexts-0
This document is a tool for diversity and inclusion practitioners, human resources staff, and others involved with advancing the progress of…LGBT individuals in the workplace. It will help users to think critically about potential barriers to LGBT inclusion globally, and further their understanding of how to implement successful policies and programs across contexts.
Stonewall's Diversity Champions Programme
http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_work/diversity_champions_programme/default.asp
This website provides best practices for integrating gender and sexual diversity issues into the workplace.
Expanded Terminology, Theories, and Concepts
Understanding of GSD terminology and concepts is essential in ensuring their successful integration into workplace policies and programmatic solutions. The following resources provide an overview and in-depth understanding of these concepts.
A Social Justice Advocate's Handbook: A Guide to Gender
http://www.guidetogender.com/
This handbook is a guide to gender from a social justice perspective… It offers clear, easily-digested, and practical explanations of one of the most commonly misunderstood things about people.
The Gender Book
http://www.thegenderbook.com/
The Gender Book is a community-based resource that illustrates the diversity of gender. This resource can be seen as a gender 101 for anyone around the world.
Video Resources
You can click the title to watch the video here, or follow the link to open on TED. Title and descriptions reflect those available on TED at the time of posting.
- Fifty Shades of Gay
Artist iO Tillett Wright has photographed 2,000 people who consider themselves somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum and asked many of them: Can you assign a percentage to how gay or straight you are? Most people, it turns out, consider themselves to exist in the gray areas of sexuality, not 100% gay or straight. Which presents a real problem when it comes to discrimination: Where do you draw the line?
http://www.ted.com/talks/io_tillett_wright_fifty_shades_of_gay - How I Help Trans Gender Teens Become Who They Want to Be
Puberty is an awkward time for just about everybody, but for transgender teens it can be a nightmare, as they grow overnight into bodies they aren't comfortable with… Endocrinologist Norman Spack tells a personal story of how he became one of the few doctors in the US to treat minors with hormone replacement therapy
http://www.ted.com/talks/norman_spack_how_i_help_transgender_teens_become_who_they_want_to_be - Is Anatomy Destiny
Alice Dreger works with people at the edge of anatomy, such as conjoined twins and intersexed people. In her observation, it's often a fuzzy line between male and female, among other anatomical distinctions. Which brings up a huge question: Why do we let our anatomy determine our fate?
http://www.ted.com/talks/alice_dreger_is_anatomy_destiny
