While back at the office on Monday, colleagues gossiped about what they had one on the weekend. Steven Bielinski said he was dating an interesting girl. They had dinner and decided to travel outside Shanghai that week, the city where he worked, for vacation.

The only problem was he was lying, dozens of times that year, and for many years now at work. He had never dated and would never date a girl. Instead, he was dating a man. He was gay but had to hide.

During his nine years in China, Bielinski has had to be cautious in revealing who he is, just like millions of other lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in China.

China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, and removed homosexuality from its official mental illness list in 2001. Since then, China has seen great progress in LGBT rights, but coming out at the office is still a sensitive topic. It can result in the loss of a promotion, isolation from colleagues, verbal and even physical abuses, activists say.

Bielinski has decided to take steps to effect positive change here. In December 2013, he started "Shanghai LGBT Professionals," also known as "WorkForLGBT", a non-profit network for LGBT employees in China and platform for supportive employers.

"The simplest reason [LGBT people should be appreciated at the workplace] is the benefits that come from having a workforce reflective of the population," said Bielinski.

There have been no national surveys on the exact number of LGBT people in China. However, it is widely estimated that the number could be in the tens of millions, suggesting a market of around $300 billion, according to LGBT Capital, an asset management and corporate advisory company targeting this part of population.

"When a company is marketing to a certain population, when that company is doing branding research or coming up with particular HR recruiting projects, they need to reach out to different parts of the population and know how to best communicate with diverse segments," said Bielinski.

An inclusive environment also means better unleashing human potential. "Since coming out in 2011, I have been publicly truer to myself and more authentic with others. That has made me a better leader," wrote Beth Brooke-Marciniak, Global Vice Chair of Public Policy of Ernest & Young on Forbes.com.

After its foundation in late 2013, Bielinski invited company human resources staff and LGBT employees to its events. Employees could share their experiences, knowledge and business cards at networking cocktail functions, while human resource professionals could join a bi-monthly roundtable of around fifteen HR leaders to discuss programs and policies to promote equality at work.

Around a dozen such events have been held so far. Several hundred LGBT employees and employers, many of which are on the Fortune 500 list, have attended these events. In August, 2014, together with 20 indigenous gay rights groups and Community Marketing, a marketing consultancy targeting LGBT population, WorkForLGBT released a nation-wide survey on China's LGBT population at their "China Pink Market Conference".

The first step for an inclusive workplace, he told China Daily, is "to have a very clear non-discrimination policy inside the company expressed in Chinese and English". Then, companies should conduct entrance training around the issue and create a diversity network that includes LGBT employees.

As companies advance their equality efforts, visibility from LGBT employees within the organization is required. "The company needs to have one advocate inside the company who can work with HR leaders on diversity programs," he said.

Seeing this, Bielinski is also trying to match employees, at their consent, with their HR departments. Some of the network's employee members are now assisting their employers in related programming.

The road ahead, however, is still bumpy. True equality between heterosexuals and other sexual minorities comes not only from equal recognition, but also in benefits, health insurance and beyond. All these policy reforms require approval from senior corporate management. "It may take six months, nine months or even years," said Bielinski.

Moreover, his corporate partners are largely Western multinationals with an existing global strategy on LGBT related issues, and for indigenous companies, such companies are less frequent. In these situation, Bielinski suggests employees lead employers to "learn more LGBT as a business issue", but also warns "it's difficult to influence if you don't have a job, or a livelihood, or some security."

"I never encourage people to take actions that would jeopardize their welfare," he said.

(China Daily USA 03/13/2015 page3)