Employers extend inclusive benefits, like gender affirming care

Companies looking to attract top talent must ensure they aren’t filtering out or giving a negative impression to certain staff, including those who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. A third of LGBTQ+ employees, and half of transgender employees said they’ve refrained from applying to positions due to a perceived or actual lack of support for the LGBTQ+ community, according to a report from Indeed.

It comes as more states work to pass legislation threatening LGBTQ+ protections, and particularly protections for transgender staff, with over a third of LGBTQ+ avoiding applying to jobs at companies in those states, the report found. 

“There’s a strong portion of the LGBTQ+ community that do not want to work for employers who do not offer inclusive benefits, and now added into the equation, do not want to work for employers who are located in places where they may not be feeling safe,” said Scott Dobroski, vp of corporate communications at Indeed, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Accordingly, employers are responding by extending inclusive benefits, like gender affirming care, and making other commitments known in job postings and during the hiring process to let prospective staff know they’ll be supported and work in an environment that welcomes their whole selves. 

“There's a strong portion of the LGBTQ+ community that do not want to work for employers who do not offer inclusive benefits, and now added into the equation, do not want to work for employers who are located in places where they may not be feeling safe."

-Scott Dobroski, vp of corporate communications at Indeed.

Some 72% of respondents in the Indeed survey said their employers offer health insurance that covers gender-affirming care. “Five years ago, certainly 10 years ago, very few employers offered gender affirming care,” Dobroski said.

Other nods to an inclusive company culture include broader parental leave policies and health insurance for domestic partners, Dobroski said. Indeed also offers a relocation benefit for transgender staff in states without protections, offering $10,000 to help staff move to other states, he said.

Beyond the job posting and benefits expressed during the hiring process, job seekers are looking for other elements that signify an inclusive company culture. That includes seeing public statements of support from an employer. Management commitment and leadership support are also important, along with gender inclusive facilities, according to Indeed’s report.

Another way to find employers welcoming and supportive of LGBTQ+ staff is through the Human Rights Campaign corporate equality index, where companies are ranked on their LGBTQ+ inclusive policies, practices and benefits. Indeed scored 100 on the index in 2023. 

EY is another employer that scored 100 on that index in 2023, and offers a range of inclusive benefits, like equivalent medical benefits for domestic partners and equivalent family formation benefits. It rolled out a Pathways to Parenthood program in 2017 to help cover up to $50,000 in costs for staff going through in the process of vitro fertilization, adoption or surrogacy. 

“You can't say you have equity and inclusion if you exclude a population with benefit needs."

-Wendy Edgar, EY Americas HR Director.

And its Pathways to Transition program which rolled out in 2019 also offers up to $50,000 for gender-transition related expenses not covered by their medical plan. The program originally covered $25,000 in costs though EY doubled that to ensure staff could afford all the care they needed. About a handful of EY employees use the benefit each year, and so far this year five employees have used it, said Wendy Edgar, EY Americas HR Director.

“You can’t say you have equity and inclusion if you exclude a population with benefit needs,” Edgar said. 

Other supports include an LGBTQ+ benefits guide and gender transition guidelines for all employees. Gender transition guidelines that are typically documentation of supportive policies and practices outlining how a gender transition could be for an employee. “It’s the coaching and the counseling and the material, so it’s much more comprehensive than just paying a medical bill,” Edgar said. 

“Professionals want to be able to really love and like the companies they work for all 12 months of the year, not just during June and pride month,” said Andrew McCaskill, an LGBTQ+ Linkedin Career expert.

“I think that it’s really important for companies to walk the walk of inclusion, but also give prospective employees and current employees, all of those cues that we want you here. We want to make sure that you have the opportunities to not just survive, but thrive at work,” McCaskill said.