One in 10 Chinese bankers won't work with gay and lesbian colleagues
HSBC survey reveals some fixed attitudes, but first LGBT workplace summit brings finance groups together to discuss discrimination
Ten per cent of Chinese bank staff are unwilling to work with gay and lesbian colleagues, compared with total acceptance among their expatriate counterparts, an unofficial HSBC internal poll has found.
The bank's Hong Kong chief executive says it is only right to accept the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community at the business level, regardless of religious opposition.
"Definitely the sexual minorities in Hong Kong are still facing a certain level of discrimination, particularly in the workplace," Anita Fung Yuen-mei, HSBC's first female CEO for Hong Kong, said yesterday.
Creating a workplace that keeps LGBT staff engaged "is definitely the right thing to do … before we talk about whether it's going to make the organisation more profitable and able to generate more business", she said.
Fung made her call at Asia's first LGBT workplace summit, hosted locally by Barclays, where her bank joined 18 other financial services companies to share their thoughts on hiring and working with sexual minorities.
In the survey, HSBC staff pollsters found that almost all 700 staff members were aware of the term "LGBT".
But 10 per cent were "unsure if they are willing to work with LGBT", without saying why.