When people talk about LGBTQIA+ inclusion at work, the conversation tends to default to gay and lesbian experiences. That is understandable as the progress is real and hard-won. But bisexual employees occupy a different and often harder position. They can be erased from two directions at once.
A bisexual woman with a male partner is assumed straight. A bisexual man with a male partner is assumed gay. A bisexual person who doesn't discuss their relationships may disappear from the conversation entirely. The identity becomes invisible through assumption.
That cognitive load has measurable consequences. A study using Australian Workplace Equality Index Employee Survey data found that bisexual employees reported significantly lower workplace wellbeing than their gay and lesbian colleagues. Diversity Council Australia's Inclusion@Work data reinforces the point: 46% of LGBTQIA+ workers reported experiencing discrimination or harassment at work in the past year, around one and a half times the rate of non-LGBTQIA+ workers.
What inclusion actually requires
Putting the "B" in your LGBTQIA+ policy does not mean bisexual employees feel included. Real inclusion requires something more deliberate.
Say the word
When organisations run Pride events or have leaders speak about LGBTQIA+ belonging, the language tends to default to "gay and lesbian" or retreat to the acronym. Bisexual employees notice when their identity is absorbed into a rainbow but never named. Naming bisexuality explicitly, in communications, in training and in storytelling, is the starting point.
Challenge the stereotypes, directly
The myths that follow bisexuality into the workplace do not disappear because the organisation has a Pride network. Inclusion training should name bisexual-specific stereotypes, not just address homophobia in general terms. Managers and allies need the language to interrupt those moments.
Use inclusive relationship language
Using "partner" rather than "husband" or "wife" as the default in conversations, forms, and policies costs nothing. It signals that the workplace is not assuming everyone's relationship looks the same and it avoids the specific bind bisexual employees face when their partner does not visibly signal their sexuality.
Audit your LGBTQ+ network
Pride networks can unintentionally become gay-and-lesbian-centred spaces. A useful question for network leaders: in the last twelve months, how many events, stories, or resources specifically addressed bisexual or bi+ experiences? If the answer is low or unclear, that is a good place to start.
Mark Bi+ Visibility Day
Bisexuality Awareness Week runs 16–23 September each year, culminating in Bi+ Visibility Day on 23 September. March is also Bisexual Health Awareness Month. Use these as moments for a leader post, a panel, a myth-busting resource or a story from a bi+ employee willing to share. The point is not to confine bisexual inclusion to these dates but to use them to make the identity visible and the conversation normal.
Build ally capability on bi-specific issues
Australian research found that workplace diversity training and active ally behaviours were significantly associated with LGBTQIA+ employee wellbeing. But training that only covers general LGBTQIA+ awareness may not equip allies to support bisexual colleagues. Allies need to understand what biphobia looks like and what to do about it.
Check your benefits and policies through a bi+ lens
Domestic partner benefits, family leave, and health insurance can inadvertently exclude bisexual employees if designed around same-sex partnerships only. A review of how "partner" and "family" are defined across HR policies is a straightforward audit.
Measure bisexual experience separately
Aggregated LGBTQIA+ data hides the bisexual gap. Where sample sizes allow, examine belonging, psychological safety, and disclosure comfort specifically among bisexual employees. If you cannot see the gap, you cannot close it.
The bigger picture
Employees who feel unseen disengage. Employees who spend energy managing assumptions contribute less than they could. That invisible tax compounds over time and the data on bisexual workplace wellbeing is consistent across studies, countries, and measures.
The B is not silent because bisexual people have nothing to say. Our job as leaders, colleagues, and allies is to do the specific, deliberate work of making bisexual employees feel that the B was always meant for them.