BOQ Group introduces six weeks paid Gender Affirmation Leave
22 May 2023
Today, BOQ Group has announced it is supporting employees affirming their gender by introducing new leave entitlements.
Recognising the gender affirmation process requires time and is different for everyone, employees will be offered six weeks of paid leave and up to 12 months’ unpaid leave to support them on their affirmation journey.
Group Executive, Retail Banking at Bank of Queensland and ProudlyMe executive sponsor Martine Jager said, “Across the Group, we are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all of our people, and this includes providing gender affirmation leave for our LGBTQIA+ colleagues.
“This means our people who are affirming their gender will be able to use paid and unpaid leave to take the necessary steps required without having to draw on their annual and sick leave entitlements.”
“This is particularly important as research shows trans and gender diverse people are likely to experience lower employment rates and poorer mental health outcomes, impacting their ability to feel accepted in the workplace.
“It’s another example of how we are supporting our people to bring their whole selves to work every day and reach their full potential.”
The gender affirmation leave offered by BOQ Group will allow our people to take time to undertake gender affirming processes, which could include:
· Medical affirmation: Attending medical appointments, surgeries, rest and recovery from procedures.
· Social affirmation: Changing pronouns and/or name, adopting a style of dress and presentation that affirms their gender.
· Legal affirmation: Legally changing their name and/or gender on identification documents.
ProudlyMe, BOQ Group’s LGBTQIA+ employee-led affinity group, has been consulted on the gender affirmation leave to ensure our people with lived experience were provided an opportunity to give feedback on the leave. ProudlyMe promotes the inclusion of people of diverse sexualities and genders in the workplace and helps to create meaningful change, including by:
(a) Recognising important LGBTQIA+ days of significance, including Wear It Purple Day and IDAHOBIT;
(b) Publishing educational resources to assist our people to understand how they can be active allies to the LGBTQIA+ community;
(c) Fundraising for LGBTQIA+ charities, like Minus18;
(d) Supporting ME Bank’s sponsorship of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival; and
(e) Making training available to our people to uplift their knowledge and awareness of LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace.
BOQ Group is a member of Pride in Diversity and participates in the Australian Workplace Equality Index, the definitive national benchmark on LGBTQ workplace inclusion.
For any media enquiries, please contact:
BOQ Media Relations
Email: Mediarelations@boq.com.au
Phone: 07 3212 3068
