Australian Banks Give Paid Leave To Members Of The LGBTQ+ Community For Gender Affirmation

June has been hijacked as Pride Month, the LGBT community’s entire month devoted to the movement and over the past few years, corporations and companies have been rolling out the red carpet, ready to please a small minority of the population who feel they are victims that need special privileges and allowances.

Now one of the biggest banks in Australasia, ANZ, has announced new policies that would allow transgender employees to take six weeks paid leave and up to 12 months of unpaid leave to “affirm” their “new gender identity.”

ANZ employs over 40,000 people worldwide and the bank wants “any aspect of gender affirmation including social, medical, and legal gender affirmation” to be covered with special benefits.

Of course, those who are not confused about their agenda, get no such benefits.

Former singer and ANZ’s “Diversity and Inclusion Lead” Fiona MacDonald says the scheme was designed to be part of ANZ’s commitment to supporting the gay movement and told the media that the new benefits are part of the banks “inclusive culture.”

In a statement, MacDonald said that it is “especially important” that trans-gender people are made to feel special because the “gender diverse are more likely to experience lower incomes and employment rates.”

“The six weeks of paid leave means people who are affirming their gender do not need to exhaust their annual or sick leave entitlements, while also easing some of the financial pressures,” she further added.

On its website, ANZ has an entire section devoted to reiterating itself as “a leading employer for LGBTQ+ inclusion,” claiming numerous titles by the Australian Workplace Equity Index, which measures the “workplace inclusion” levels of Australian businesses.

It is amazing that parents who want paternity leave are discouraged from taking time away from work to raise their babies, but someone who is confused about their “gender identity” is given special allowances, no questions asked.

ANZ is also a member of the taxpayer funded group the Welcome Here Project, a group of the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON). Those who are members of this group, display rainbow stickers in their windows to let those in the LGBT community know that their business is a “safe space.”

ANZ is also a signatory of the UN Standards of Conduct for Business Tackling Discrimination against LGBT people, closely partnered with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Transgender Victoria, and Intersex Human Rights Australia.

The Australian supermarket chain, Coles, also announced it will be implementing similar policies for members of the LGBT club.

“We know that we have at least 900 team members who identify as transgender or gender diverse,” announced David Brewster, Coles’ Chief Legal and Safety Officer and chair of the company’s Pride Steering Committee.

“We need to have proper policy and education in this area so there is clear guidance around taking leave for this important transition in their life.”