"The benefits of inclusion around gender and ethnicity are pretty well understood now, and we consider that the same arguments apply to the rainbow community. It's about making the workplace a safe and welcoming place for people from rainbow communities."
The Rainbow Tick programme is modelled on similar overseas initiatives, and involves businesses signing on for either a one or five-year period. Rainbow Tick carries out an annual audit of the business' rainbow inclusion, and prepares a report, action plan and feedback based on the results of focus groups and investigations. Training to supplement these results is also provided.
Finally, Rainbow Tick certification is awarded to businesses that meet the required standards, and this certification can be used in marketing and advertising.
"I think one of the things that has struck me the most is how welcoming the corporate world has been to this, because they can see the benefit for them in taking these steps," Stevens says.
"We see it as a quality improvement programme, so our ideal is to sign a business up for five years, and come back every year and help them maintain or improve the standards they have reached."
The certification involves examination of five different areas, including external engagement, top-level strategy and policy, general training and monitoring.
Factors such as allowing for the optional recording of sexuality or gender will play favourably into the overall certification criteria.
Already, Stevens says that participating businesses have implemented initiatives such as internal staff support networks, and carrying out pro bono work for LGBTTI charitable organisations.
Innovative engagement initiatives, such as SkyCity lighting up the Sky Tower in rainbow colours during Pride Week, can reassure both staff and customers that the organisation is an inclusive and welcoming workplace.
Stevens suggests that it can be easy for senior management to overlook the need to provide further support to their rainbow community.
"Even though people at the very top of organisations go, 'Look, we just want the very best talent, we don't care whether they're gay or straight', the experience of people on the shop floor is often very different from that. So that's where it seems like more work is needed; in making the environment lower down in the companies more inclusive and more welcoming."
This is where the audit report and training provided by Rainbow Tick can be of assistance, in identifying target areas and providing the support necessary to educate staff.
Despite significant progress towards LGBTTI equality within the political framework, the corporate environment can be slower to adapt.
But the benefits exist to customers, as well as staff.
"The other area that we're keen to work with a bit further down the track is with the tourism sector," Stevens says. "For example, if you are an adventure tourism company and you can prove that your staff aren't going to freak out if two women bungy jump holding hands, you can put a rainbow tick on your website, to show people looking for somewhere to go and do activities that they are safe in your company."
And the plans don't stop there. In what may be a world first, Rainbow Tick is working with Standards NZ, to support a voluntary human resources standard that any business can apply for.
Rainbow Tick currently targets primarily large businesses, but is looking to expand and develop the programme over the next six months, to make it workable for small and medium enterprises.
Finally, a Wellington launch in August aimed to provide a springboard into government departments and Wellington-based businesses.
