Aktionsplan “Queer Leben”

Update March 22, 2023

On March 20, the Queer Representative of the Federal Government Sven Lehmann welcomed to the launch event of the Aktionsplan “Queer Leben” in Berlin. PROUT AT WORK, together with numerous organizations, belongs to the circle of those who bring the action plan to life.

The aim of the event was to launch the official implementation of the action plan. The more than 200 participants from various associations and organizations exchanged ideas and formed working groups, which in turn will discuss the concrete implementation of the action plan’s projects in the coming months.

Prior to the event, 78 civil society organizations were selected from more than 140 applications in order to bring as many different perspectives as possible to the working groups. We are very pleased that PROUT AT WORK is also one of the selected organizations and will be represented by our board member Albert Kehrer.

The launch event as well as the formation of working groups represent the first necessary steps towards the implementation of the action plan for a queer-friendly society and we are looking forward to placing important topics around LGBT*IQ in the workplace there in the future.

THE AKTIONsPLAN IN THE WORK CONTEXT

In addition to topics such as the Self-Determination Act, the reform of the Parentage Act, and blood donation, other issues important to the work context were also addressed under the heading of “participation”. These include the following measures:

• Expansion of the diversity topic pillar as part of the “New Quality of Work (INQA)” initiative of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS);
• Research projects on the situation/discrimination of LGBT*IQ in the world of work as well as improving the promotion of projects for acceptance;
• Development of a guideline for employers that includes the recommendations for action of two studies on the “Third Option” in a comprehensible way for use in everyday work;
• Sensitization of employers, trainers, employee representatives for the concerns of LGBT*IQ employees and applicants;
• Support for raising awareness of LGBT*IQ issues in in-company training;
• Establishment of a dialogue process (federal government, states, collective bargaining parties, church employers) on improving the working conditions of LGBTIQ* in institutions of churches and religious communities;
• Promotion of diversity management in the federal public service;

Additional measures in the area of federal administration:

• Development of an internal federal diversity strategy (incl. creation of further training opportunities, support for the establishment and networking of employee networks and a strategy for diversity-sensitive personnel selection procedures);
• Implementation of diversity issues (incl. LGBT*IQ/gender identity) in initial, further and advanced training (e.g. qualification measures by the Federal Ministry of Defense [BMVg] in civilian and military training and by the Federal Foreign Office in training in the Foreign Service); Regularly strengthening the educational and advisory competence of the social service in the Bundeswehr on the diversity issue; Conducting systematic baseline analyses on the situation of LGBT*IQ (e.g., with the help of employee surveys);
• Sensitization of employees to implicit prejudices and integration in competence requirements/competence models;
• Sensitization and, if necessary, training of employees involved in recruitment processes;

For more information about the plan “Queer Leben”, feel free to drop by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

For more information around trans* in the workplace, the third option, and other workplace related LGBT*IQ topics, we encourage you to check out our free HOW TO guides.