IKEA Australia celebrates the LGBT+ community this IDAHOBIT Day

Corporate news16 May 2024

On 17 May, the International Day Against LGBT+ Discrimination (IDAHOBIT), and every day, IKEA works to ensure that our current and future LGBT+ co-workers and customers feel included and represented.

We believe we’re better together and that everyone deserves to feel truly at home and accepted for who they are – not just at IKEA, but everywhere. That’s why we remain committed to proactively creating a workplace and customer experience free from homophobia, biphobia, intersexism and transphobia.

We want all customers to feel accepted every time they visit IKEA Australia, so we’ve adopted inclusive family car park signage to represent all Australian families. All our stores have gender-neutral bathrooms and room sets inspired by a diverse range of living situations, including same sex couples.

We’re proud of our co-worker initiatives, too, including the introduction of gender-neutral uniforms, sharing pronouns on name badges and email signatures, giving co-workers the choice to be known by their preferred name at work and expanding the definition of family to include chosen family. IKEA + Pride, our LGBT+ Co-worker Resource Group, provides a safe space for LGBT+ co-workers to be heard and to lead discussions around barriers to inclusion, meaningful actions and LGBT+ progression. This year, we’re also proud to announce the introduction of our new Gender Affirmation Leave Policy, which supports co-workers who are in the process of affirming their identity.

This year, to celebrate IDAHOBIT IKEA is supporting the Rainbow Shoelace Project, to offer a simple way for our co-workers to show their solidarity with the LGBT+ community. The project, which invites everyone to wear pride-coloured beads on their shoelaces was created by LGBT+ teen Abbie Jane when she was 12 years old, as a way for queer kids to feel supported and less alone. IKEA co-workers will join and wear the beads on their shoelaces as a visible sign of support for the LGBT+ community.

In addition, IKEA Australia will be donating $20,000 to Minus18 to support the employability of LGBT+ youth between 18 – 25. The donation will go towards the Young Leaders Program, which uses coaching, mentoring and workshops to develop the skills and confidence of young LGBT+ leaders.

To support LGBT+ representation and education, IKEA for Business is donating $5,000 to Qtopia Sydney, the world's largest Queer Centre of History and Culture. The contribution will help fund Qtopia’s exhibition space, which is devoted to the memory, education and celebration of the unique histories and lived experiences of the LGBT+ community. IKEA is already represented in the space with a costume made from the iconic FRAKTA bag.

At IKEA, love starts with us. We want to help more people to create compassionate and inclusive homes and communities so all LGBT+ people can feel welcome, included and free to be themselves.