While there has been great progress when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, there is still work to be done, and the procurement function can play a huge role in this effort!
Actions to increase the value of inclusive procurement can be taken internally and, also, through collaboration with suppliers. So, our aim with this article is to show how procurement can champion LGBTQ+ inclusion, ensuring that their supply chain reflects the diverse world we live in. The key considerations to help you assess your procurement processes are:
- Develop an inclusive procurement policy
- Identify and engage LGBTQ+ suppliers
- Provide training to employees
- Create a supportive environment
- Diverse your spend management
- Conclusion
Develop an inclusive procurement policy
Creating the right policies and contracts into the procurement process is crucial to encourage suppliers to advance equality. Apart from ethical standards, it is important to keep, or create in case you have not defined it yet, nondiscrimination policies inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity, that promote safe and working rights for LGBTQ+ employees.
As for suppliers, it would be also a good idea to ask how they monitor workers’ rights and compliance with codes of conduct in their supply chains to make sure they share the same focus on diversity and inclusion. Our you can also share your employee policies with providers to help them assess their own policies.
Identify and engage LGBTQ+ suppliers
By diversifying the supply chain, procurement teams can support the LGBTQ+ community while promoting economic growth and innovation.
In fact, there are several benefits when applying these principles. By engaging and supporting LGBTQ+ businesses in supplier diversity, companies promote inclusion and diversity throughout the whole organization. Besides, companies receive better products as suppliers perform better when they can be themselves and this leads to more creative and competitive products and services.
Additionally, companies gain access to a wider range of providers that can offer unique perspectives and a good reputation for the organization, highlighting the work they are doing to advance equality.
Provide training to employees
To support the LGBTQ+ community, it is important to train employees to raise awareness of queer issues and foster a more inclusive workplace. This way, everyone in an organization can feel safe, protected and welcome.
It can also be given specific training on the importance of diversity in procurement and recruit people from different backgrounds to bring a different perspective to procurement decision-making.
Create a supportive environment
Creating a supportive environment throughout the whole year is also a great idea to show your consistent support to the queer communities. You can sponsor LGBTQ+ events, you can offer your employees a day-off to perform different volunteering activities that support the causes or give your support by giving financial donations to LGBTQ+ rights organizations.
Moreover, you can join forces with other Pride committees to use your collective power to strengthen your calls for improvements.
Diverse your spend management
To fully support the LGBTQ+ community it is also important to review the spend practices of your organization to make sure they are not discriminating the community. To achieve this, it is important to identify suppliers who have been engaged in discriminatory practices against the queer community and avoid doing business with them.
Conclusion
Supporting the LGBTQ+ community is not something that should be done once a year, and procurement teams are able to create and promote an inclusive environment on a continuous basis. So, it is important for organizations to lead by example, encouraging providers to have a good practice in relation to gender and sexual orientation.
But this is not only just the right thing to do. It is good for business, as collaborating with suppliers that are discriminating the LGBTQ+ community can turn into reputational damage for the organization.
By developing an inclusive procurement policy, identifying and engaging LGBTQ+ suppliers, providing specific training to employees, creating a supportive environment for the queer community and diversifying the spend management, procurement companies can become a model that create lasting change in the workforce and beyond.
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