Speculating one’s gender identity or sexual orientation to be the principal factor contributing to the discrimination they face at the workplace is attributed to the fact that gender is performative.
A 2023 survey by Deloitte titled ‘LGBT+ Inclusion @ Work’ reveals that 42 per cent of respondents (n = 5474 people across 13 countries) have “experienced non-inclusive behaviours in a work context and just less than half say they are certain they experienced them as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity, with a further 37 per cent saying they strongly suspect this to be the reason.”
The reason why one speculates their gender identity or sexual orientation to be the principal factor contributing to the discrimination they face or a cause of microaggression is the fact that gender is performative. Everyone at the workplace participates in this performance, actively or passively judging you, cementing perceptions about you. This is what men did to women when the latter first began to enter workplaces. And this is what collectively cishet, conformist organisations do to queer individuals—make them feel unwelcome. It is no surprise, then, that there’s a dearth of queer people in organised workplaces, especially the tech industry worldwide.
A lack of empathy
In June 2024, a non-profit organisation, Women in Technology (WIT), revealed a startling global statistic: “Only 2-3 per cent of the tech workforce identifies as LGBTQ+.” The report further underlines the consequences of this underrepresentation—firstly, it can “perpetuate a cycle of invisibility”, and secondly, it can lead to compounding of “challenges of breaking into and advancing within this field.”
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The moment tech firms will inhabit a mindset that allows them to open their doors to diverse talent pools they will start witnessing differences. Image: Pexels
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It can be the case that one is in a position to influence change when it comes to workplaces being more inclusive but feels powerless to do so. Image: Pexels
Let’s first understand how invisibilisation works through firsthand experiences. A Bengaluru-based cisgender gay man Atul* (35), who chooses not to name the present organisation he works at, recalls working in the United States-based multinational IT firm Cisco: “I wasn’t out to anyone. I was a young engineer, very unsure of my identity, the world, and my place in it; dead-scared of being outed. I remember my buffoonish manager calling me ‘womanly’. He would often squeeze my shoulders or back, and call me ‘soft like a lady’. Some of the other senior team members would laugh. I would laugh too. I didn’t know if it was a way to call me feminine or make fun of me because I was not manly enough, or I was too fat, or gay. Or was it straight-up sexual harassment? I was too soft to be given the work I asked for or be taken seriously. I ended up quitting in less than a year.”
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One of the reasons organisations offer in response to bringing in benefits like insurance policies for same-sex partners is that they don’t know if there are queer people in their offices, so it’s important to signal your presence. Image: Pexels
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The reason why one speculates their gender identity or sexual orientation to be the principal factor contributing to the discrimination they face or a cause of microaggression is the fact that gender is performative. Image Pexels
He continues, “Once, over a cigarette break, someone mentioned the Pride march. It was a new thing those days (circa 2012). Out of my fear of being outed, I feigned ignorance. And a few of my seniors—kind and helpful as they were to me—chuckled and asked if I was sure I didn’t know what that was. I freaked out, and stopped hanging out with them.”
If someone thinks that India has changed since a part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018, then here’s the response that Atul’s manager gave when he requested a pay hike at his present organisation: “You are not married”. As if only married men with family and kids deserve a raise. But at the same time, Atul says that “being straight-presenting has saved me from a lot of unpleasant situations. I was lucky enough to get recognised for my work. I’d like to believe that my current organisation would have treated me just the same. The only question I get most of the time is why I am not married, yet. And the answer I give to people is, ‘Trust me, I am just waiting for the right time’.”
An unintentional othering
Had Atul’s organisation empowered him to feel safe coming out, he could’ve helped influence others’ decisions to come out and be visible to the organisation. One may ask why that is important. One of the reasons organisations offer in response to bringing in benefits like insurance policies for same-sex partners is that they don’t know if there are queer people in their offices, so it’s important to signal your presence.
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A 2023 survey by Deloitte titled ‘LGBT+ Inclusion @ Work’ reveals that 42 per cent of respondents (n = 5474 people across 13 countries) have “experienced non-inclusive behaviours in a work context". Image: Pexels
However, it can be the case that one is in a position to influence change but feels powerless to do so. Bengaluru-based techie Booshan (24) has less than two years of working in the tech industry. When they were hired in their previous organisation to foster inclusivity, they felt that while the firm “was taking baby steps when it came to change,” it wasn’t as invested in bringing any material change in place.
“IT’S BAFFLING THAT THEY NEVER SAY ‘LESBIAN’. EVEN WHILE MENTIONING MY GIRLFRIEND, THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO ADDRESS MY PARTNER. IT INCREASES THE AWKWARDNESS IN GENERAL IN THE ORGANISATION”
Mrigu*
They share multiple examples that render them uneasy in the workplace. First, “There’s this thing that ‘Oh, we don’t judge people by their gender and sexuality’, but you must [if someone like me identifies outside the binary]. Then, I used to wear androgynous clothes at work and would attract stares. But when I would push myself to wear clothes considered suitable for cishet males, people would say: ‘You don’t look gay or queer’.”
Lastly, they note that while there’s a norm of introducing oneself with their pronouns, it felt like “no one cared when I asserted my pronouns—they/them/theirs."
Furthermore, Booshan has always witnessed their manager “talking to male-identifying people in the office very comfortably. There’s also a physical touch involved because of this comfort. And with me, I see that he always hesitates—avoids eye contact, stands at a distance.,” so an unintentional “othering” also occurs in the workplace.
A Hyderabad-based cisgender lesbian woman Mrigu* (32) working for a mid-size firm has had similar experiences. She notes that her “gender comes into question because she is queer.” She says, “I once had a manager who didn’t know the difference between gender and sexuality. And when I informed her that I’ve a girlfriend, she said, ‘Oh even I also feel like a man on some days, it’s pretty normal’. Then, often I get misgendered by the staff in my office. I anyway hate these sir/ma’am salutations, but they almost always call me ‘sir’. I am neither trans nor nonbinary, so I can only imagine the kind of scrutiny their bodies go through in such situations.” But what’s more commonplace for Mrigu is when “people stumble around,” trying to understand her identity. “It’s baffling that they never say ‘lesbian’. Even while mentioning my girlfriend, they don’t know how to address my partner. It increases the awkwardness in general in the organisation.”
IMPLEMENTING STEPS TOWARDS INCLUSION
To signal allyship towards queer people and boost inclusivity at the workplace, tech firms must begin advertising their ease of employing LGBTQIA+ individuals and demonstrate that commitment by putting in place an Employee Resource Group (ERG). This would help facilitate programmes that cater to creating more awareness, organise training like unconscious bias, sensitising other employees, and fostering a dialogue between them. Feeling a sense of belonging at work not only increases performance and productivity by 56 per cent (a finding by Harvard Business Review) but is also good for business, as per a Forbes report that identifies global purchasing power of LGBTQIA+ people to be ~US$4 trillion.
“I DIDN’T KNOW IF IT WAS A WAY TO CALL ME FEMININE OR MAKE FUN OF ME BECAUSE I WAS NOT MANLY ENOUGH, OR I WAS TOO FAT, OR GAY. OR WAS IT STRAIGHT-UP SEXUAL HARASSMENT?”
Atul*
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To signal allyship towards queer people and boost inclusivity at the workplace, tech firms must begin advertising their ease of employing LGBTQIA+ individuals. Image: Pexels
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Feeling a sense of belonging at work not only increases performance and productivity. Image: Pexels
Tapping this potential requires tech firms to be inventive and partner with organisations that champion diversity hiring. Here’s a case in point: Pride Circle—an Indian diversity and inclusion advocacy firm—provides queer people more visibility to opportunities that signal inclusion. For example, in their #HireWithPride initiative, itpublicised Uber’s Software Engineering UberStar Internship opportunity in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which was further amplified by Uber’s recruiters on LinkedIn. Initiatives like this, alongside gestures like using pronouns in one’s email signatures and promoting gender-neutral language, are a few steps that firms would’ve to undertake to attract LGBTQIA+ people, who, in turn, would further become change champions, inspiring others to join the organisation. The moment tech firms will inhabit a mindset that allows them to open their doors to diverse talent pools they will start witnessing differences.
* Names of individuals changed to protect their identities.
Curated by Gaysi Family | Illustration by: Anjali Nair
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