How can industry support LGBTQ+ clients?

The good news is that there are a lot of ways you can look to improve the service that you provide to make it more accessible. Let’s face it, no one wants to upset clients, damage their reputation or spend resources speaking to people who do not sign up for services.

I would love to provide you with more stats to tell you how many people this information impacts. There has been very little research done so far, which just shows how much LGBTQ+ people do not get prioritised.

Language is powerful; it is one of our biggest tools to engage with our audience.

In 2020 the Office for National Statistics reported that 3.1 per cent of over 16s identify as LGB and charity Stonewall has estimated that 1 per cent of people are trans or non-binary. That might not seem like a lot at face value, but that could add up to 2,460,000 people (we do not know how many people fit into both categories). 

We need to make sure that financial planning is accessible and LGBTQ+ issues are known about and taken into account when we speak to our stakeholders.

Thinking about language

‘What if the client doesn’t identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community?’, you might find yourself asking. The simple answer is that every one of these people will have loved ones and they might very well identify as the above, so not being aware of these issues could create a challenge.

Language is powerful; it is one of our biggest tools to engage with our audience. It is also a low-cost way to make changes for the better. Using inclusive language will help your clients and prospects feel like they are in a safe space. It will help to build trust.

The majority of people will probably stick to the stand Mrs X and Mr Y, but it means a lot to those of us for whom those titles do not apply.

When you are asking for someone’s details, asking for their name is usually first on the list. It is asking them what to address them as and how to refer to them – you do not know until you ask them if that is how they like to be known.

Asking if a client has a preferred name should be quite simple, it is also nothing new – like the people who like to be called Dave instead of David. If someone is in transition they may or may not have changed their name legally, so it is really important that you offer to use a name that makes them feel comfortable.

Another one is title. I have lost count of the number of providers who have not been able to give Mx as an option. It is what is on my ID and it is part of my name. Why are companies putting people off using their services? It is something that I look for above price.

I would prefer not to have a title at all, the concept is outdated in my opinion. You can ask your clients how they would like correspondence to them – the majority of people will probably stick to the stand Mrs X and Mr Y, but it means a lot to those of us for whom those titles do not apply. 

More potential complaints are out there unless we make changes now.

It is human nature to make some assumptions; it saves us time and energy. If I am buying something in a shop and they ask for ‘nine pounds 10’, they do not have to specify that they mean pounds sterling, 10 is 10 pence, which is payable now, there is no finance available, and no tip is required for the cashier and so on.

But when we are speaking to people and we assume their pronouns, gender or those of their family members, we are excluding them. 

Steps we can take

The forms that we use are somewhat in our control. A lot of us act as a broker in some way, which means that third parties will provide forms to capture your client’s data.

We can change our internal forms to have the option to put in a preferred name, a gender-neutral title or the choice of not using a title, pronouns and a free type box for greeting. If providers do not have the same choices we can ask – we are their clients and they should be supporting us to provide an inclusive and welcoming service. 

A lot of trans people struggle with protection insurance applications. If someone puts their gender at birth they could be misgendering themselves, trust me, that probably feels like a little kick in the gut.

If they put their gender correctly, they will be asked about body parts that they do not have. Even if they get through all of that, the number of questions and how invasive they are will vary between providers, but I doubt it is a pleasant experience.

I had trouble getting car insurance recently. I use the title Mx but it was not available on the drop-down lists on the comparison sites I went to. I proceeded to the insurer hoping that they would have it. I could not find a provider that gave me the option to pick the right one.

It is important to reinforce that ignorance does not mean that organisations do not care.

If I insisted on using Mx I would have paid three times the price and have subsequently raised a complaint with the ombudsman about it. Society is changing and as more people adopt this alternative title, more potential complaints are out there unless we make changes now.

It is important to reinforce that ignorance does not mean that organisations do not care, it probably means that they do not know about these issues due to a lack of exposure, especially for smaller companies. And big companies might take longer and have more expense to cascade changes.

We need to ask them to prioritise it because it is the smaller companies that are most impacted by potentially excluding their audience.

There is such a long long list of reasons why people are impacted by their LGBTQ+ identity, which is far too long for this article, but keep your eyes peeled for future articles and feel free to follow me on social media. 

Jamie Lowe is a financial planner of True Self Wealth