(Expansión) – In June, the world is painted in colors in support of the fight for the rights of the LGBTIQ + community; a struggle to which more and more companies and organizations are joining, which makes us wonder what it really means to be an organism in favor of diversity and inclusion?
Unfortunately, colors are not yet permeating in most companies, where currently 36% of LGBT + workers have had their job growth affected by their orientation and are denied opportunities, and in Mexico, 1 in 3 have homosexual people. suffered discrimination at work.
These data are an example that there is still a lot of work to be done, since it is necessary to understand that each and every one of us has the same value and rights, regardless of beliefs, ideologies, sexual orientation and identity, etc., and no one should feel repressed for who he is.
However, and referring to the aforementioned context, it is still difficult to think that organizational cultures are totally open to change. It is here where we find the importance of the task of organizational leaders, who must generate the necessary elements to create environments of zero tolerance for discrimination or abuse.
Today more than ever, our responsibility as company leaders is and will always be to promote inclusion for all employees, where creativity and free expression are invited, making people feel appreciated and valued and at the same time, teams benefit from the great potential and diverse points of view contributed by all their members.
For me, the real difference between speech and action is working from empathy, which allows us to know the perspective of the different segments that represent our community and thus, understand the needs of each of them to achieve benefits that impact in their well-being and, in the same way, also in the lives of our consumers.
In this way, we will be able to develop and implement equitable policies, starting with generating transparent recruitment processes, and continuing throughout the company’s career with inclusive initiatives. Likewise, it is essential to provide security to all employees through well-established codes and principles where values such as respect and solidarity are always prioritized.
Different is not bad, it is what makes us unique and special. I invite you to paint ourselves in colors 365 days a year and to become more companies that promote diversity and inclusion within its collaborators and thus enrich our ranks with different ideologies and ways of thinking, only in this way will we achieve a more empathetic and empathetic society. solidarity that recognizes that valuing differences makes us stronger.
Editor’s Note: Reginaldo Ecclissato is president of Unilever Mexico and North of Latin America. Follow him on. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
