As Pride Month has involved reflection on inclusion, there is an opportunity for the built environment to move beyond symbolism and focus on practical, measurable actions that shape safer, more welcoming infrastructure. Rather than concentrating on facilities alone, the sector can look at how design, procurement, leadership and culture collectively determine inclusion. Recent discussion following the Supreme court ruling on defining ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 and subsequent EHRC guidance has largely centered on toilets and changing facilities. As a result, assumptions about identity are increasingly visible, questioned and, at times, policed.

In practice, this does not only affect trans and non-binary people, but also all other women who do not conform to narrow or traditional expectations of how women should look or be. Anyone outside a rigid stereotype can now be subject to challenge or suspicion.

Nonetheless, when inclusion gets narrowed down to a single issue, it can distract from the bigger picture of the systems, policies, design and workplace culture that really shape everyday life in the built environment.

The built environment continues to face long-standing challenges around representation, retention and workforce engagement. Research shows a clear generational gap in LGBTQIA+ identity: studies worldwide show higher LGBTQIA+ identification among younger people, reflecting a global shift in how identity is understood and reported (Gallup,2025; Ipsos LGBT Pride Survey, 2024).

This makes inclusive working practices increasingly important for attracting future talent and retaining skilled employees. The areas below set out practical, system-level steps to help create a more inclusive built environment.

Designing spaces that encourage safety 

The built environment should prioritize designing for accessibility, wellbeing and community cohesion. 

Many LGBTQIA+ people continue to modify their behaviour in public, with 56% reporting discomfort even holding hands in public (Stonewall, 2024). This highlights that public environments are not safe for everyone, and small design decisions can either increase or reduce feelings of comfort and visibility.

Greater engagement with communities during planning and design processes can help surface these lived experiences and translate them into better spatial outcomes. This includes creating enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces that sit within the public realm but offer a greater sense of protection and discretion, allowing people to socialise and express affection more freely. Design informed by lived experience creates better places for everyone.

Embedding accountability through allyship 

Inclusive workplaces require more than policies alone. Stonewall’s 2025 workplace research highlights a clear gap between policy and lived experience. Three in ten LGBTQIA+ employees would not feel comfortable reporting discrimination, and over a third reported hearing discriminatory remarks about LGBTQ+ colleagues.

Visible allyship structures, supported by trained individuals who act as accessible points of contact can provide clearer routes for raising concerns and reinforce that inclusion is a shared organisational responsibility.

The effectiveness of allyship comes down to what happens in practice. When it is properly embedded, it helps surface issues earlier, builds trust and creates environments where people feel able to show up without constantly filtering who they are.

Procurement as a driver of organisational values

Procurement decisions shape far more than cost, programme and technical delivery. They also influence organisational culture through the behaviours and expectations carried across supply chains.

Due diligence can go beyond compliance and include how organisations treat their workforce, how they approach wellbeing and whether their values align with inclusive working practices.

Supplier codes of conduct and ethical procurement frameworks set expectations from the outset. When inclusion is considered alongside quality, safety and performance, it becomes part of how value is defined rather than an optional extra. This helps build supply chains that actively reinforce positive culture across the sector.

Psychological safety 

Workplace culture is shaped by whether people feel able to speak up. The built environment has long valued resilience and self-reliance, but these traits can also discourage uncertainty, assign blame to mistakes and dismiss harmful behaviour as banter.

When people don’t feel safe to raise concerns, or admit uncertainty, organisations lose opportunities to learn and improve, eroding wellbeing, trust and retention.

Psychological safety depends on leadership that prioritises learning over blame and fosters open dialogue and diverse perspectives. It also requires space for conversations about stress, vulnerability and emotional wellbeing.

The sector is in a crisis for mental health, with 26% of construction workers having suicidal thoughts, according to CIOB survey data from 2025. Organisations such as Mates in Mind and Human Angle Ltd are helping to advance healthier, honest and emotionally intelligent workplace cultures. At CIOB we are promoting accessible mental health support through CIOB Assist, assisting individuals in the built environment access the support they need.

Ultimately, the aim is to create environments where people can move, work and exist without constraint.

“I don’t think that gayness is contagious. But I am certain that freedom is.” Glennon Doyle, Untamed.