Intro
In this part, we’ll take a closer look at how organisations can make their policies LGBTQI+ friendly. But before we start with this, we would like to take a moment to consider the terminology. Because let’s face it, it’s not the easiest abbreviation.
Did you know that…
- … there are different abbreviations used to refer to people who are not heterosexual? Some examples: LGB, LGBT, LGBTI, LGBTQ, LGBTQI, LGBTQI+, LGBTQIA+, LGBTQIA*+.
- … the + has been added in order to be inclusive for persons who don’t identify with one of the letters?
- … it is important to use the right abbreviation in the right context? If you are only talking about gay, lesbian and bisexual people, use the abbreviation LGB; if you want to be as wide and inclusive as possible, use one of the abbreviations with a + behind it.
- … there is another more inclusive way to map out the colourful diversity of sexual preferences, gender identities and the like? You can do this using – you guessed it -an abbreviation: SOGIESC.
SOGIESC stands for Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression and Sex Characteristics. Do you have an idea of what these terms stand for? A frequently used image to explain this further is the gender unicorn.
