A coworker now identifies as nonbinary. Here’s how you can make a workplace inclusive in SC
A line on the Columbia-based Harriet Hancock Center Foundation website begins “It can be isolating to be LGBTQ+ in South Carolina …”
Those of us who are not lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning/queer, cannot fully understand what that means, but we can empathize.
Now, empathy seems to be in short supply these days, but imagine a moment in time when you felt isolated.
Perhaps you were an awkward seventh-grader struggling to fit in or a new hire at a company with a culture you didn’t quite understand.
Maybe you are the only person in your friend group (like me) who fully appreciates the brilliance of the original Star Trek.
Whatever your circumstances, you may have felt isolated for a minute or a day or a year.
Now consider feeling isolated every single day of your life simply because of who you are.
That’s the experience of members of the LGBTQ+ community in our state, and that’s why the actions of one of my co-workers this week renewed my belief in the good of others.
In an email to the whole staff and via a Tweet and Instagram post, Joshua Boucher announced that “I am writing you all to tell you that I am nonbinary and will be using they/them pronouns going forward. I am asking you all to do the same when referring to me in print and to others.”
The note continued, “Getting to know you all over this last year and seeing the care and understanding you all have shown with nonbinary sources has made the decision to come out easy for me.”
What a credit to our staff.
Remember the old adage actions speak louder than words?
Your actions and those of your co-workers can speak volumes to those who know who they are and who want to be able to share that with the world.
“I feel comfortable coming out to you all because I know The State is a place where I can be my authentic self, receive support and respect,” they wrote.
In true journalist style, they also added a link to the Associated Press Stylebook to make sure we knew what all this meant and the proper terms to use going forward.
The responses of my co-workers have been incredibly loving and supportive and offer further proof that my decision to take a job here was the right one.
“Yay! Love you, pal,” wrote one person. “Thanks for letting us know – we appreciate you and have your back,” wrote another.
Interested in learning more about life for the LGBTQ+ community in South Carolina? The University of South Carolina has assembled a great list of resources. Check them out and learn how you can support the people around you the way our staff has supported Joshua.
Could someone like my nonbinary co-worker feel comfortable sharing who they are with you?
If not, consider what you can do to make it so.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 2:05 PM.