Sat 4 Oct 2014 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Public feedback is being sought on a ground-breaking bid to create a formal standard for gender and sexual diversity in the workplace. New Zealand is the first country in the world to develop an official standard. Standards New Zealand has worked with a committee made up of a number of organisations to create the draft, including the Rainbow Tick’s administrator Affinity Services, Auckland Chamber of Commerce, the EEO Trust, gQ Network, Rainbow Wellington, the Council of Trade Unions and Public Service Association. It says the draft standard focuses on central areas of policy, staff engagement, external engagement, training, and monitoring. The standard does not include a certification process, like the Rainbow Tick does, but instead provides guidance on how to achieve an inclusive workplace. “NZS 8200 provides information and recommendations on how an organisation can be assessed as a safe and inclusive place for people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities,” Standards New Zealand says. “Gender and sexual diversity is used in this standard to cover different forms of sexual orientation and gender identity. This includes, but is not limited to, homosexuality and bisexuality as types of sexual diversity, and transgender and intersex gender identity.” It says the standard also outlines what a welcoming and inclusive workplace is for people of diverse sexuality and gender identity and will assist organisations to understand what is required to attain this standard. The feedback process is open until 28 November. The draft and details on how to give feedback can be found here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 4th October 2014 - 10:04am