Ace Week

The importance of psychological safety for asexual employees was discussed at Diversity Network’s LGBTQ+ Employee Networking Hub. Ace Week runs from 20 October this year, and is an opportunity to kickstart the conversation about asexual colleagues in your organisation.

Attendees from the UK, US, Canada, France and Argentina brainstormed ways to ensure safe workplace spaces including practical suggestions for education and training about supporting asexual colleagues. This issue is particularly relevant for colleagues in the US with the upcoming government elections.

One of the common dilemmas faced by ERGs is about providing an appropriate place for asexual colleagues: LGBTQ+ employee networking groups are keen to welcome ace colleagues but are mindful that discussions about sex are common and may alienate asexual people.

Storytelling is a powerful way to begin conversations, especially with a senior leader as an ally, mentor or sponsor. But LGBTQ+ employee network groups often find it difficult to find role models who are asexual to help accelerate the pace of workplace change.

Back to basics: the facts

Asexual people are those who experience little, fluctuating or no sexual attraction. Ace is a popular term used within the community to describe asexual people. You’ve probably also heard of the ace and aro spectrum which includes people who are aromantic – who experience little or no romantic attraction as well as asexual – people who experience little or no sexual attraction.

It is estimated that, globally, around one per cent of the world’s adult population is asexual. Which doesn’t sound very much but in the US alone that figure would represent 3.4 million people.

The UK government’s National LGBT+ Survey found that asexual people have lower life satisfaction, greater mental health needs and were less likely to be out to friends, family and colleagues.

The UK rights charity Stonewall released a landmark study last year which is really worth reading called Ace in the UK. By interviewing asexual people it found that only one in ten asexual people feel comfortable being out at work and half don’t come out to anyone.

Just one in ten of asexual people reported being open with all colleagues at a similar or lower level than them. To put that in context four in ten of the rest of the LGBTQ community feel comfortable being out.

Half of ace respondents weren’t open with any colleagues, compared to two in ten of all LGBTQ+ respondents. This increased with senior colleagues and even more so with customers and clients. Eight in ten felt unable to be open with clients, compared to just over half of all LGBTQ respondents.

Practical ways to support asexual colleagues

There are three areas that will make a difference to creating an open and inclusive culture which will encourage asexual colleagues to feel comfortable at work and, hopefully, thrive.

1 Education. Share with your organsiation the facts about asexual people in the workplace – there is about one per cent of the world’s population who are asexual and, crucially, that a very small minority of asexual people feel able to be their authentic selves at work which will inhibit them from working at their full potential and feel like themselves at work.

Explain what asexuality is – it is one of the most misunderstood communities within LGBTQ+ groups, and one of the reasons why asexual colleagues feel unable to share their experience.

2 Training. Make sure that training about asexuality at work is included in your LGBTQ+ learning programmes. Ensure that it is made clear that asexual colleagues are welcome in your organisation – from material on your website to onboarding programmes, and in-house training. Make sure asexual people know that they are welcome into your LGBTQ+ employee networking groups. Perhaps you would consider a separate ERG for asexual colleagues, if members and leaders and asexual people themselves feel that’s appropriate.

Think about the culture of your organsiation. Asexual people say a major reason why they aren’t coming out at work is because their workplace is overly sexualised – that is, an emphasis on talking about partners and couples. Being sensitive about the conversations you have with colleagues can help with this – it is worth waiting until someone shares with you if they are in a relationship before asking them if they are seeing someone, for example. And, as with many aspects of creating an inclusive workplace environment, changing the way you have conversations can benefit many colleagues of all sexual orientations, not just asexual ones.

3 Storytelling is a brilliant way to reinforce your learning and training initiatives. Welcome an asexual person into your organsiation to talk about their experiences – having that first-person narrative is so powerful when it comes to understanding diversity and inclusion in your organsiation. LinkedIn is a good resource for finding asexual contacts and speakers, and you could also get in touch with organsiations such as Stonewall or Asexual Outreach.

Ace Week runs from 20 October 2024 to raise awareness, build community, and create change around the world.

To access resources for your organisation, see:

https://aceweek.org/stories/resources

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/resources/ace-report

https://www.sarahcosgriff.com/asexuality

https://www.yasminbenoit.co.uk/

Diversity Network’s Employee Networking Hubs are held monthly and are a chance to meet and mingle with ERG leaders and members in other sectors as we learn and share with each other. If any of your ERG colleagues would like to join us for our regular Employee Networking Hub sessions, they can do so by registering here: https://diversity-network.com/registration-form/

We look forward to seeing you!

Scroll to Top

Partnership Query

Please fill this form if you’d like more info on partnering with Diversity Network, and we’ll be in touch!