February marks LGBT History Month in the UK. Aiming to promote tolerance and equality and raise awareness of the prejudices suffered by those within the LGBT community, the campaign was initiated in February 2005 by Schools OUT, an organisation that works to promote LGBT equality in education. The movement has been met with increasing levels of support and LGBT History Month is now observed beyond the education sector, including in many workplaces.

As well as human rights legislation, LGBT History Month.org credits the repeal of section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 as a significant event leading to an improvement in how LGBT people are treated in the UK. This was followed by the introduction of the Equality Act 2010, which protects individuals from being harassed or discriminated against in relation to their sexual orientation, amongst other protected characteristics.

This year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has announced that it will mark LGBT History Month by taking part in the #LGBThero campaign. This celebrates the influence of LGBT people and champions diversity and inclusion. With Stonewall having released its annual index of Britain’s top 100 employers for LGBT staff earlier this week, there has never been a better time to review your workplace practices and policies to ensure that your business is embracing inclusive attitudes and celebrating diversity in the workforce.