Pride Month – an opportunity to reflect on the Histadrut’s support of LGBTIQ+ workers

June is LGBTIQ+ Pride month, a time to celebrate the achievements of the community and to raise awareness of the challenges they still face. It is also a time to reflect on the progress that has been made at the Histadrut to recommit to fighting for equality for all.

In an interview with “Work Plan” the Histadrut’s magazine, Yaya (Yair) Fink, the Chairman of the Histadrut’s Division for Social Justice and Gender Equality, talked about the historic decision to form a division that represents LGBTIQ+ workers. Fink said that in Israel, more than 71% of LGBTIQ+ workers do not come out as LGBTIQ+ in the workplace.

While the decision to identify at the workplace is a personal one, Fink highlighted that in the current situation, most workers’ committees and representatives are unaware of the challenges that some of the workers they represent experience. “We want them to feel comfortable at the workplace, where they spend many hours of their days,” he said. “Alongside ensuring that they receive equal treatment and enjoy equal rights, we want them to feel comfortable.”

The Histadrut has always supported LGBTIQ+ workers. Nevertheless, given the identified gaps, in the formation of the Division for Social Justice and Gender Equality earlier this year, the Histadrut has made it a priority to raise awareness around common challenges LGBTIQ+ workers face, and challenges that may be unique to them. This effort is led by Fink and by Maggi Moore, Chairwoman of the Assuta workers committee (Assuta is the largest private hospitals group in Israel).

The Social Justice and Gender Equality division is providing training to workers’ committees, workers’ organizations and workers’ representatives. Additionally, the division provides training to the workers’ support hotline of the Histadrut, in order to build a comprehensive capacity to support LGBTIQ+ workers through that system.

The Histadrut is committed to creating a more inclusive and accepting workplace for all workers, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. On this month of pride, we want to remind the workers in Israel that the Histadrut works all year round to ensure that everyone feels safe and respected at work.

You can find Yaya’s interview (in Hebrew) here