This year's Taiwan LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Workplace Index was released yesterday, with 59 companies and organizations, including local government agencies participating for the first time, recognized as inclusive workplaces for gender minorities.
Following its first edition in 2023, this year’s index drew on self-assessment forms submitted by participating employers.
It also reviewed the measures they had taken over the past two years to advance LGBTQI+ inclusion in the workplace.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Equality Campaign
At a news event in Taipei, Juan Mei-ying (阮美嬴), director of marketing at the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association, one of the two organizations that compiled the index, said that five main areas were evaluated for the 63 entities that took part in this year’s index.
Under the main areas of “commitment,” “policies and benefits,” “internal communities and support systems,” “internal training/advocacy” and “external impact/advocacy,” 59 participants earned high enough scores to be recognized as “LGBTQI+ inclusive workplaces,” while four others failed to meet the threshold, she said.
Citing “commitment” as an example, Juan said the index looks at whether employers have made a clear commitment to supporting an LGBTQI+-inclusive workplace, set it out in written policies, assigned dedicated staff to promote it and translated it into concrete measures.
However, the score required to meet the threshold was not made public.
Association secretary-general Sean Du (杜思誠) said that the design of the index was modeled on similar standards in the US and the Netherlands.
While the 59 recognized employers are mostly large multinational corporations and small and medium-sized local businesses, three local government agencies — the Taipei City Government, New Taipei City Government and Kaohsiung’s Department of Tourism — stood out as the first local authorities to take part in the index.
Bureau Director-General Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) said that her agency has organized empowerment-focused talks and courses to help its 180 civil servants “truly understand what gender equality and gender diversity mean.”
She also encouraged her colleagues to remake the office space, transforming it from a serious-looking government workplace into one filled with color and rainbow symbols.
Such efforts have made a difference, Kao said, adding that staff at the bureau have said that the changes to the workplace and other actions made them “feel safe and at ease working here.”
Citing previous survey results, Du said that many gay people, especially those working in the public sector or in education, do not feel comfortable coming out at work and may face pressure in their workplaces if they do.
Participation by public-sector agencies in the index, and their open support for LGBTQI+-inclusive workplaces, is thus “highly meaningful” to the community, he said.
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