LGBT+ History Month: Innovation and progress

Innovation is often talked about as if it’s a lightbulb moment in a vacuum, but if the innovation doesn’t meet the needs of your target customer or user, then the likelihood of it being a success is a diminished. With such diversity in our communities, innovation must include the viewpoints of a diverse audience that represents those communities, which is why there is much research that demonstrates the more diverse your workforce, the more innovative your organisation can be. Diverse teams bring a broader range of perspectives to problem-solving and innovation, both of which are key for remaining competitive and attracting new markets.

As we move into LGBT+ History Month 2026, the theme of Science and Innovation offers employers a unique opportunity to look beyond standard diversity and inclusion checklists.

For far too long, history has systematically omitted LGBT+ innovators, leaving us to inherit their brilliance whilst often erasing their identities. With far greater awareness of the barriers LGBTQ+ talent faces, not just in the workplace but society in general, now is a chance to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. HR leaders need to examine how the structures of our workplaces improve inclusion to fuel the creativity necessary for growth.

LGBT+ scientific pioneers

History has a habit of editing out the individuals who don’t fit a specific mould. In the realms of STEM, LGBTQ+ contributors have often been relegated to the footnotes or had their identities scrubbed from their achievements.

Consider the breadth of this impact across industries of these mavericks who were part of the LGBT+ community:

• Robert Boyle, a founder of modern chemistry and the scientific method.
• Charles Beyer was a locomotive engineer and a founding member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers during the industrial revolution.
• Barbara Burford used her research to establish NHS equality and diversity guidelines, directly linking scientific rigour to workplace inclusivity.

When we mention these names alongside more well known LGBT+ pioneers like Alan Turing, we acknowledge that LGBT+ people have always been essential architects of the world we live in today.

For organisations, this is an opportunity to bridge the ‘belonging gap’ that can often persist in corporate environments. When employees see their own identities reflected in the legacy of their industry, it reinforces a sense of psychological safety and reminds them that they are part of a long tradition of innovation.

The complex LGBT+ scientific legacy

It would be a disservice to the community to celebrate science without acknowledging the historical harm it has inflicted. For decades, scientific and medical frameworks were used to pathologise LGBTQ+ identities. These weren’t just abstract theories; they influenced workplace policies, healthcare access and legal rights.

Acknowledging this history demonstrates a level of maturity in an organisation’s EDI strategy. It moves the conversation from surface-level celebration to a deeper, more authentic reconciliation. HR leaders who can navigate these nuances show a sophisticated understanding of why some employees might still view corporate inclusion initiatives with a degree of healthy scepticism.

Addressing the misapplication of science in the past helps build trust today. It signals that the organisation isn’t just following a trend but is committed to a workplace culture of respect and evidence-based inclusion.

Moving beyond symbolic gestures

In a climate where EDI efforts are being scrutinised as distractions or even worse, as a departure from meritocracy, grounding your initiatives in the theme of innovation provides a robust business case.

Caroline Criado-Perez, author and feminist activist, argues in her book Invisible Women, systems such as meritocracy that claim to be neutral often systematically disadvantage women and marginalised communities, because of conscious or unconscious biases that make true meritocracy a myth. By reframing inclusion as a data-driven tool for excellence, we move from ideology to real impact.

Moving from ideology to impact requires a structural review of how people experience your organisation and building cultures where innovation is a constant.

To do this, HR leaders can focus on three key pillars of action:

1. Audit the employee life cycle

Inclusion should be woven into every stage of the employee experience:

• Recruitment and onboarding: Moving away from gendered language in handbooks and job descriptions.
• Policy support: Ensuring practical, empathetic and legally sound guidance for colleagues through gender transition.
• Management training: Equipping managers with the tools to handle sensitive conversations with confidence, separating high-performing cultures from those that are merely compliant.

Updating handbooks and refining HR policies provides the essential safety net for an organisation. This structural foundation is at its most effective when paired with real-world insights, using data to understand exactly how these changes are experienced by the workforce. To ensure cultural initiatives achieve their intended impact, leaders can look to the stories hidden within their numbers.

2. Use data to drive inclusion

In Invisible Women, Criado-Perez highlights that a lack of representative data leads to systemic failure. This translates to a simple truth that if we aren’t looking at the right data, then inclusion initiatives are essentially guesswork.

Using employee relations technology to track trends in employee satisfaction and grievances at a granular topic level, mapping ER data alongside data points like protected characteristics, allows an organisation to:

• Bridge the data gap: Enhance the visibility of LGBTQ+ employees and identify hidden pain points.
• Inform the board: Identify the root cause of issues preventing inclusion to transition EDI from a ‘nice-to-have’ into a strategic priority.
• Challenge bias: Develop targeted learning programmes that address conscious and unconscious bias in recruitment and promotion.

While data helps identify the structural gaps, numbers alone cannot help build cultures that encourage empathy; that comes from understanding lived experience and having conversations. A sophisticated approach involves bringing these stories to light in a way that protects and celebrates the community, ensuring the work of education is supported by the organisation rather than being left as an additional task for the individuals themselves.

3. Support the ‘educator’ without burdening them

While LGBTQ+ colleagues may wish to share their stories during LGBT+ History Month, there should never be an expectation for them to act as the primary educators for the rest of the business. Inclusion also means respecting personal boundaries. Instead, organisations can:

• Bring in external experts to lead complex conversations.
• Use bespoke digital learning resources to ensure a consistent, high-quality level of training as well as microlearning to drive continuous learning in an evolving space.
• Scale learning across the organisation to avoid exhausting internal advocates.

By creating spaces where education is shared responsibly and boundaries are respected, you build an internal culture of trust.

The cost of silence

In a competitive market for talent, brand reputation is everything. Well-known organisations that have wavered in their commitment to diversity and inclusion to avoid perceived controversy often find they lose more in employee trust and consumer loyalty than they gain in temporary peace.

Building trust requires an organisation’s external voice and internal actions to be in total alignment. In a landscape of shifting social pressures, a clear and consistent stance provides far more stability for a brand than the perceived safety of remaining neutral on topics that are so important to our workforce.

Choosing to speak up during a month focused on the pioneers who played such a vital role in shaping the modern world shows integrity, signals to prospective hires that they can build a career without compromise.

The values championed during LGBT+ History Month provide a powerful blueprint for the rest of the year. Translating this momentum into year-round allyship involves regular reviews of HR policies, ensuring they stay ahead of the latest legal protections and social shifts. This ongoing commitment ensures that inclusion is a permanent feature of the organisational landscape, rather than a seasonal initiative.

Organisations that will lead the way are those that recognise the value of every individual’s history and identity and that inclusion is the engine of sustainable growth.

Next steps for your organisation

If your organisation wants to move from awareness to action, our range of services can support you. Download our latest infographic for five essential tips.

Whether it’s refining HR policies, implementing data-driven employee relations tools, or developing bespoke learning and development sessions, our experts can help organisations to create an environment where all colleagues feel they can bring their best selves to work. Get in touch today.