Think Manager, Think Male? Think Again
According to the latest Rainbow Index by Rainbow Europe, the Czech Republic is one of the most progressive and liberal countries in the Central Eastern European region in terms of equality and non-discrimination of the LGBT+ community. Despite this encouraging fact, members of the LGBT+ community continue to face struggles in the Czech workplace.
“One of the main issues is that a major part of the population – together with employers – thinks that we are a very tolerant society and feels that we do not have to do anything for the LGBT+ community”, Pavliná Kalousová (CEO of Business for Society) argues. “We are trying to shift this kind of perception towards the acknowledgement that every group in the workplace needs a specific approach. There is a large group of employers that recognises that the creation of equal opportunities and chances is something they should invest in, but an even bigger group believes they do not need to tackle similar issues regarding the inclusion of the LGBT+ community.”
Employees that are closeted lose a lot of time and energy hiding things. Those who are open and can be themselves work much more effectively.
In the academic world, the idea that people tend to attribute masculine traits to successful leaders is widespread (“Think Manager, Think Male”). As several studies have shown that gay men are viewed as less masculine than their heterosexual counterparts and are perceived to possess more feminine traits, they could suffer from the pink ceiling effect, of which its name is derived from the infamous glass ceiling effect: an invisible barrier that keeps a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level. When asked about the pink ceiling, Kalousová addresses the following: “One of our recent anonymous researches proved that a high percentage of openly gay students go back in the closet once they enter their first job. When we talk about any potential ceiling, this is where it starts. If you deviate from the norm and think your work environment does not welcome your true self, you can start to believe that being openly gay or lesbian could be a career barrier.” Whether the pink ceiling is a fact or a fairytale, it is important that companies strive towards an open internal culture. Not only does such a culture positively affect the work environment, it quite simply saves money. “Employees that are closeted lose a lot of time and energy hiding things. Those who are open and can be themselves work much more effectively.”
Kalousová notices a shift in the workplace with the younger generation entering the job market. “I have seen many traditional companies change from within because young people started their jobs and were brave enough to proudly communicate who they are. I even witnessed that one graduate persuaded the entire management to focus on certain diversity issues”. Nevertheless, she thinks it is important to continue to fight for the inclusion of the LGBT+ community in the workplace. “As we see with other diversity issues such as women and their representation, we need to push it somehow. Apart from bringing human stories, we should try to communicate facts and data. If you hire people with the same cultural background, within the same age group, of the same gender and with the same sexual orientation, they will bring the same solutions. In the workplace, innovation is one of the main positive effects of diversity.”
Business for Society was founded by Pavlína Kalousová in 2009 and promotes sustainable and responsible business. The company is the national coordinator of the Czech diversity charter, a voluntary commitment of companies and other employers to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
