PRISM: Human Rights issues relating to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) in Aotearoa New Zealand - A report with recommendations and safe workplace for people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.356 A common place for businesses and corporates to be measured against the standard is the organisation Rainbow Tick.357 The Rainbow Tick is given to organisations that have successfully completed a baseline certification ascertaining whether their workplace understands and welcomes sexual and gender diversity. While it is common practice for any standard designed in either the private or public sector to be refreshed regularly to ensure it remains consistent and relevant, it has not been updated since it was created in 2015. The New Zealand Workplace Equality Study was published by Rainbow Tick in 2019. The survey measured employees’ experiences of their organisation’s SOGIESC inclusion initiatives within their own Rainbow Tick-accredited organisations.358 The 18% of survey respondents who had a diverse SOGIESC viewed their workplaces as far less inclusive than the 82% who were heterosexual and cisgender. This shows the need for policies to be designed, implemented, and monitored by the people affected by them; a fundamental human rights principle often described as, “Nothing about us, without us.” ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BRING THEIR WHOLE SELF TO WORK AND NOT HAVE TO HIDE PARTS OF WHO THEY ARE. Valuing diversity and inclusion enhances a company’s reputation as a good employer, attracts a larger pool of qualified candidates, reduces the risk of discrimination and harassment, and drives innovation.359 Such initiatives communicate clearly to the general public the principles and values of an organisation. Excluding a group of people based on their actual or perceived SOGIESC costs employers with regards to recruitment, retention, and job performance.360 Proactive improvements Improving workplace conditions for SOGIESCdiverse employees requires change at two levels: individual and institutional. As with schools and education centres, the biggest positive impact will come from developing, implementing, and monitoring anti-discrimination policies. In line with international human rights law, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN has developed Standards of Conduct for businesses to tackle discrimination against people with a diverse SOGIESC.361 They recommend recognising the need for a nuanced and diverse approach based on the diversity of SOGIESC, including references to non-discrimination in job advertisements, developing an effective diversity and inclusion policy stating specific desired outcomes, and establishing a framework for determining whether these outcomes have been met. They specifically recommend addressing the rights of transgender and intersex people, noting that companies tend to lag behind for these groups. This may include adopting pro-active policies for transgender inclusion; recognising the self-determined gender of staff, customers, and stakeholders regardless of their official identity documents; supporting the employee to use the bathroom and changing room facilities of their choice; and adopting the appropriate dress code. Protecting the rights of trans staff can be further enhanced through amending employee names, gender, and title records, and providing workplace training to managers and colleagues. Standards New Zealand Rainbow-inclusive workplaces: A standard for gender and sexual diversity in employment (NZS8200:2015) (2015). 357 Rainbow Tick <https://www.rainbowtick.nz/>. 358 Only 334 of the 1865 survey respondents (18%) had a diverse SOGIESC. This was made up of 150 gay men, 57 bisexual women, 55 lesbian women, 25 gender diverse people, 25 bisexual men, 8 asexual people, and one intersex person. The sexual orientations of the gender diverse and intersex people were not reported. See Rainbow Tick New Zealand Workplace Equality Study: Employee Survey (2019). 359 United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Tackling Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, & Intersex People: Standards of Conduct for Business (Geneva, 2017). 360 Ibid. 361 Ibid. 356 58