LGBTI

To us, LGBTI+ inclusion means continuing to support and promote a workplace where our people feel comfortable and empowered regardless of their sexual orientation, sex characteristics, gender identities or gender expressions. We want to foster a welcoming workplace environment for people across the spectrums of LGBTI+ through education, resources, policy and ongoing support.

We established a National LGBTI+ ERG in 2016, and this group is supported by LGBTI+ Champions in each of our regions, a growing network of more than 230 LGBTI+ allies across Australia and an executive sponsor from our Australian Leadership Team (ALT) - Michele Beattie.

Pride Month, IDAHOBIT and Wear it Purple

We continue to mark important LGBTI+ days including International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), World Pride Month and Wear It Purple Day (pictured top right).

During Pride Month in 2021, some of our people across the globe told us how they would describe pride to their younger self in a video. Watch it here.

Pronouns

We added an option to include gender pronouns in our official GHD email signatures so that our people can identify themselves and indicate their pronounds.

230+

GHD LGBTI+ allies and counting

Our LGBTI+ Action Plan

In a first of its kind for GHD, in 2021, we released a LGBTI+ Action Plan (2021 to 2022), which details our commitments to support and promote LGBTI+ inclusion.

The plan features stories about our people, initiatives and a comprehensive list of actions, which fall into three key areas – systems, culture and leadership. There is also a useful glossary of common LGBTI+ terms at the back of the plan.

The Action Plan has been shaped by our LGBTI+ ERG and our peoples’ experiences.

→ View our LGBTI+ Action Plan here.

Pictured: Our people at Mardi Gras 'Bingay' in Sydney

Working together with Pride in Diversity

We’re a long-term member of Pride in Diversity (PiD), Australia’s first and only not-for-profit employer support program for LGBTI+ workplace inclusion specialising in HR, organisational change and workplace diversity. PiD helps guide and steer our LGBTI+ inclusion awareness training, enablement, policy change and initiative roll out.

Through our membership we hosted two national live events for our people in 2021:

1. LGBTI+ allies training

Many people describe themselves as allies, but what does that actually mean, and how can someone be a good ally? To explore this, Chris Nelson from PiD joined us in a training session. Chris spoke about the role of allies, how allies can use their privilege to champion the voices of those with less privilege, the importance of visibility, and how to call out problematic behaviours.

2. Pride Day

To mark Pride Day (28 June), a widely recognised global day to help promote and support the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of the LGBTI+ community, Andrew Georgiou, a Relationship Manager from

PiD joined our people in a live event. Andrew shared some personal reflections on his own career experiences, as well as some industry insights and answered audience questions.

While living with a newborn is a familiar story for many, as same-sex parents, Martin (Business Group Leader - Traffic & Transport, Victoria) and his husband Paul's journey to welcoming their first child Zac into their lives was certainly a little different.

Martin kindly shared his altruistic surrogacy story with us and some tips for other LGBTI+ people who may be looking to start a family.

Martin's story

Pictured: Some of our people during Wear It Purple Day celebrations, 2021

→ Read more about Martin's surrogacy adventure

“Joining GHD as a graduate in a regional NSW town, I was very conscious of the potential perceptions and stigmas of being in a same-sex relationship. Do I tell them straight away? How would my colleagues react?

Meeting visible members of the LGBTI+ community and seeing allies with rainbow lanyards in the office were both key to me feeling confident in identifying myself. I hope that by being visible, I can support others to feel comfortable in bringing their whole identity work, especially in regional areas."