Mary Miller Sallah, left and Anuja Agrawal
Traveling for business? Here’s what LGBTQ+ folks should know
CAROLINE SAVOIE | Contributing Writer
carosavoiswriting@gmail.com
With the swath of anti-LGBTQ bills put forth by legislatures across the country this year, experts on the health and safety of business travelers are doing what they can to protect marginalized employees who are on the road for work.
Anuja Agrawal and Mary Miller Sallah co-wrote Check-Up, Check-In: Why Business Travel Strategies Should Prioritize Employee Health And Wellness to advise companies and employees to take an active role in protecting their health and safety while traveling. Sallah said the pair wrote the book as a call to action for the travel industry and business space to consider health and safety risks from a holistic perspective, thinking practically about each individual’s needs.
Varying laws and social attitudes, both domestically and internationally, pose threats to the mental, physical and emotional well-being of LGBTQ folks, Agrawal said. As a 35-year resident of Florida herself, she said the dangers queer people face in her state can, and sometimes should, deter people from traveling there.
In April 2023, the LGBTQ rights group Equality Florida released a travel advisory for its own state after several bills targeting the community were signed into law.
“If an employee doesn’t feel comfortable traveling to a certain state or country, companies should have policies in place to support that person,” Agrawal said.
Whether that support means eliminating their risk by setting up virtual accommodations or mitigating their risk through open communication and intentional planning, Agrawal said businesses must recognize that real dangers exist and have policies in place to combat those dangers.
“We encourage employers to create an environment where employees feel comfortable and empowered to speak up without any retribution or threat of losing their jobs,” she said.
Sallah said employers should put policies in place explicitly stating that if an employee has a fear or reservation about traveling to a certain place, they’re encouraged to come to their employer to find a resolution without fear of a punitive response.
She said that it is an employee’s responsibility to be informed about their own employer’s policies and about the possible risks in their travel area. “If you think your need is not being met or covered by your company, you need to be able to communicate that need,” she said.
Agrawal said employees do their part by gaining awareness about the environment they’re traveling to. Looking into travel advisories, like Florida’s, is one way to exercise their responsibility for their own health and wellness.
“There are 70 countries that consider same-sex relations a crime, meaning that gay people can be targets for extortion, crime and abuse,” Agrawal said. “This very much affects their ease of travel.”
She points business travelers to the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association for resources on safe places to take trips. That organization offers a list of hotels, shops, restaurants and more that partner with them and support the community.
Sallah said one step to protect employees is as easy as handing them a paper with numbers to call if they’re involved in a health or safety incident.
“Who answers the phone after 5 o’clock?” she asked. “There needs to be some resource available at all times to respond to an employee in danger.”
Agrawal added that companies need incident response guidelines, policies and formal documentation processes that ensure the employee’s story is not only heard, but documented and addressed.
“Because 90 percent of companies in the U.S. are small businesses, employees are often left on their own to manage their travel,” she said. “Businesses always have financial policies in place when it comes to travel, but they lack social policies, and that’s where we need to fill the gap.”
