The ILO participated in the Executive Dialogue: Rights, Diversity and Equality at Workplace highlighting efforts to eliminate all types of discrimination in the world of work against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) in Indonesia on 27 October 2015 in Jakarta. Jointly organized by the ILO, UNDP and Hivos, a non-governmental organization dealing with LGBTI issues, the Dialogue was aimed to improve LGBTI rights and mainstream diversity and equality in the workplace.

Richard Howard, the ILO’s Senior Specialist on HIV and AIDS, presented key findings on the LGBTI study conducted in four provinces: Jakarta, Kupang, Pontianak and Yogyakarta. The study investigated both challenges and good practices to combat discrimination and promote equality in employment for LGBTI people in Indonesia under each of the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda.

The study reveals that many LGBTI people experience stigma and discrimination at all levels of employment, ranging from when looking for a job, going through recruitment process to maintaining their jobs and obtaining promotion. In addition, the study emphasizes the key roles of main labour actors—Government, employers’ and workers’ organizations—as key agents for change.

Francesco d’Ovidio, the new Country Director for ILO in Indonesia, congratulated the participants for concluding the Dialogue with concrete suggested actions as ways to move forward in tackling employment discrimination against LGBTI people and promoting change in the world of work.

“Everyone has a role in promoting rights, diversity and equality in the world of work. The ILO is committed to promote the rights of LGBTI workers among our constituents as it is becoming increasingly evident that promoting diversity makes good business sense,” he said and closed his remarks by quoting the ILO’s Director-General, Guy Ryder: “LGBT workers entitled to equal rights and benefits at the workplace.”

The study was conducted by the ILO through its Promoting Rights, Diversity, and Equality in the World of Work (PRIDE). The ILO’s PRIDE Project aims to address the discrimination against LGBTI people through identifying the multiple types of discrimination facing LGBTI people in the workplace, disseminating the findings of such research, and working with constituents to promote rights, diversity, and tolerance in the world of work.