Intersex Awareness Day: how to promote inclusion in companies

Diversity

Intersex are people who have physical characteristics considered masculine and feminine at the same time

According to the United Nations, it is estimated that the percentage of intersex people worldwide is between 0.05% and 1.7%, which corresponds to values ​​between 4 million and 136 million people. The organization Intersex Human Rights Australia defines an intersex person as someone with congenital sexual characteristics that do not fit medical and social norms for binary bodies. In other words, those who have physical characteristics considered masculine and feminine at the same time.

Present as the “I” in the acronym LGBTQIAPN+, the intersex person carries even more prejudices due to the lack of information among the population on the subject and because they do not fit into male or female stereotypes.

“It is not enough for companies to offer affirmative vacancies for people from the LGBTQIAPN+ community, they need to provide support through training and assistance. The case of intersex people, in particular, requires structural support in the company, such as the creation of bathrooms that do not distinguish sex, for example,”

explains Kaká Rodrigues, co-founder of Div.A Diversidade Agora! and specialist in diversity and inclusion.

The situation of this community as a whole in organizations still suffers from prejudice and misinformation. According to a survey carried out by LinkedIn in 2022, 47% of LGBTQIAPN+ people interviewed stated that their companies do not have practices to promote equality or are not even aware of the existence of these actions in the corporate environment.

The same index registered 46% in the survey carried out by social media in 2019, showing that there was no progress on this issue. According to the survey, 50% would not say that they are gay, lesbian, intersex or transsexual to their co-workers, either because they do not want to talk about their personal life (54%) or do not see the need (57%), or for fear of influence. negative impact on professional growth (23%) or retaliation (20%). The fact is that 43% of those interviewed have already suffered discrimination within the corporate environment.

“There are few public policies that support gays, lesbians and transsexuals, and there are none that cover intersex people, which worsens the situation of this specific community, since there is still a lot of misinformation around it”, comments Kaká. However, the expert also highlights that the search for information about intersex people has increased. “It is possible to see a movement by some companies to seek consultancies and associations that help them understand the concept of intersex people. This is the first step to promoting inclusion within the workplace”,

explains.

According to Kaká Rodrigues, there are attitudes and actions that all collaborators can adopt on a daily basis to include intersex people.

“It is always important for leaders to behave proactively to become aware of the diversity present within their team, but there are behaviors that can be reproduced by everyone and that help to create a better work environment, such as listening to people’s experiences, recognize and accommodate their needs”,

exemplifies.

But the expert emphasizes the importance of the company seeking help to promote inclusion. “Organizations can and should seek the help of specialized consultancies to assist in the implementation of an inclusive culture, this way they can provide awareness to employees in a more assertive way and transform the work environment into a safe place for everyone”, she concludes. .

*With information from consultancy

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