D&I Weekly News Round Up: Discrimination, LGBTQ+ and More

By Caroline Berns, Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Talent Acquisition, MMEA

Welcome to the latest edition of our Diversity & Inclusion News Round Up. Today we are talking about psychological safety at work, young workers and presenteeism, a software changing accents, and Singapore decriminalizing gay sex.

Well-being

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about psychological safety in the workplace – which can support the well-being of employees and improve productivity and retention. This interesting article shows why psychological safety has to be a strategic priority, and how companies and leaders can overcome obstacles.

Generation

Very insightful article about flexible work and how young workers can be impacted by presenteeism. According to research, younger generations are less likely than senior colleagues to work flexible hours – feeling higher pressure to show that they are online / at their desk.

Discrimination

Concerns have been raised about a new call centre software from voice tech company Sanas, which can change the accent of workers, and have them pass as White Americans. The start-up says the technology was developed to prevent accent discrimination and to improve the well-being of call centre workers – but critics are pushing back and say that this doesn’t eliminate anything, it just helps sales. Read more here.

LGBTQ+

This week, Singapore decided that they will abolish 377A, a law from the colonial-era that bans gay sex. Singapore also announced, though, that they will amend the constitution to officially restrict marriage to heterosexual couples, therefore blocking marriage equality.