Farry to fund LGB awareness raising project

Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry MLA, today announced funding for a project to raise awareness among employers on the issues affecting those who are gay, lesbian and bisexual in the workplace.
~ Monday, 30 July 2012

The awareness raising project came about in response to a report entitled ‘Through our Eyes’, which was produced by the Rainbow Project. The report details the experiences and perceptions of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in the workplace in Northern Ireland.

Dr Farry said: “This significant project will highlight the difficulties and issues that people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual face in work and demonstrate the benefits to employers of having robust equality and diversity policies in place. The excellent report produced by the Rainbow Project ‘Through our Eyes’ highlights that too many people experience homophobic attitudes being displayed in the workplace, that there is a lack of confidence amongst lesbian, gay and bisexual people to be open about their sexuality at work and that many employers are unaware of their responsibilities around equality.

“I am committed to ensuring that the workplace is a safe and open place for people from all backgrounds to be who they are and to feel free from discrimination. In order to achieve the goal of a shared society, we must embrace diversity and ensure that there are no barriers to the full participation of people who are gay, lesbian and bisexual in all aspects of their daily life. As well as the societal benefits, there are also economic benefits to having a more inclusive workplace. If people experience less stress at work they are likely to be more productive and contribute more to their job. This project will help to increase employers’ awareness of their responsibly in terms of equality in the workplace, and further encourage them to embrace the importance of having a work environment which is welcoming to those who are lesbian, gay and bisexual.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Awareness Raising Project will consist of four stages.

• Stage 1 - Initial Engagement with 2,000 employers with 10+ employees.
• Stage 2 – Provision of 40 seminars to groups of 10+ with employers who express interest from the initial engagement.
• Stage 3 - Provision, where required, of further training/consultancy support to 80 employers in developing Equality and Diversity policies.
• Stage 4 – Evaluation of the project and production of a final evaluation report.

2. The project will delivered by a partner chosen through open competition. The Department has worked closely with the Central Procurement Directorate of the Department of Finance and Personnel to ensure transparency and independence in the tendering and selection process.

3. The tender document was published on 26 July with a return date of 3pm on 16/08/2012. The document can be viewed on the website

4.The "Through our Eyes" report can be accessed on the website