Council of Trade Unions network Out@Work will tonight launch a new workplace resource which it hopes will help more New Zealanders get a grip on gender and sexual diversity. “It’s a folder full of absolutely fantastic things that people can use to make their workplaces more inclusive of gender and sexual diversity,” says Out@Work spokeswoman Liz Robinson. Among its contents are answers to questions some people may find hard to ask, and others may find hard to answer, the Human Rights Commission’s Born Free and Equal booklet, the Department of Labour’s Transgender People at Work booklet and a workshop which goes with it. There is also information on our jargon. “I think lots of people who aren’t in the queer community, the terminology and words we use just freak them out and they don’t know what they mean. This is a little helpful guide,” Robinson says. The network hopes to get it into every workplace in New Zealand. “We’ve got a ways to go,” Robinson says on diversity being embraced at work. “A lot of our members report discrimination and homophobia and transphobia. And we know from the statistics that a lot of transgender people, for example, they don’t get a fair go in the workplace. We really do need to do everything that we can to change that.” The Gender and Sexual Diversity at Work resource will be launched at S
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 28th November 2013 - 12:30pm