1. Recognize your privilege.
At this time, our society (and often, workplaces) is hetero-normative and cisgender (or cis) normative. (Cisgender means that your biological sex matches your gender identity or expression–i.e., you have a vagina, thus "female" is listed as your biological sex and you also feel and identify as a feminine person or a woman. Transgender means that you may have been listed as "male" on your birth certificate because you were born with a penis, but this may not match your gender expression. You may identify as a female/have a feminine gender expression, etc.) Essentially, this means that from an early age we absorb the belief or assumption that everyone is heterosexual and cisgender and we act accordingly. People who identify as LGBTQ are becoming more visible, with increased representation in the media/pop culture, society, the workplace, and the news. Most of us, however, still make the assumption when we meet someone that they are heterosexual and cisgender. If you are heterosexual and/or cisgender, acknowledge the fact that we live in a society that is set up for heterosexual and cisgender people, which can make the world (and the world of work) more of a challenge for people who identify as homosexual, gay, queer, lesbian, bisexual, bi-curious, trans*, etc.
2. Don't Make Assumptions
Once you recognize and acknowledge that you are part of the more privileged area of society (i.e., you are heterosexual and/or cisgender) work on not assuming that everyone else is also straight or cis. A great way to decrease the assumptions you make about people is to stop asking new co-workers if they are married, have a boyfriend (if they are a woman) or a girlfriend (if they are a man). As a woman who is also very feminine, people often make the assumption that I am a heterosexual woman, especially since my partner identifies as a female to male (FTM) trans person and uses gender neutral (they, them, their) or masculine pronouns (he, him, his). Based on the assumption that I am heterosexual, I am often asked about my partner with the asker assuming that my partner is a cisgender male or feel "safe" making comments to me about LGBTQ people that aren't very positive.
On the subject of not making assumptions, make sure that you don't assume that all LGBTQ people are the same. Some people who identify as LGBTQ enjoy talking about their non-work lives. Others are very private. Some are liberal, some are conservative, some are moderate. Some want to be married and/or have children; others couldn't care less about these things. Some are great workers and some aren't so great. Don't judge all LGBTQ people by one or two individuals. We are as diverse in our religious, political, racial, cultural, etc. beliefs, identities, and backgrounds as any other large group of people.
3. Be a More Vocal Advocate
If someone around you makes negative or prejudiced comments about people who identify as LGBTQ, diplomatically let them know that it is not okay to make those sorts of comments around you. Everyone you work with won't be as accepting of LGBTQ people as you may be, so remember this: Being an ally is not something you are, it is something you do. (Or, ally is not really a noun, but more of a verb.) Check out your companies' score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index (an index that measures how LGBTQ friendly a workplace is) and advocate for ways your company can achieve a higher score.
4. Be Ally the Verb, NOT the Noun
Be an active ally.
Reach out to your LGBTQ co-workers. Ask them how their partner is doing or how their weekend was. Let them know, through action, that you are a safe person for them. It is wonderful to advocate for a friendlier workplace for LGBTQ employees and to vote for politicians who support equality, but it can also mean so much to an LGBTQ person to simply get to know them as a person, a co-worker, and possibly a friend.
5. Come Out of the (Ally) Closet
If your child, your best friend, your next door neighbor, etc. identifies as LGBTQ, let people know this. Be proud of the people in your life who are LGBTQ and be vocal whenever you can about your allyship. Remember the first tip–recognize your privilege? As a member of a more privileged group (heterosexual or cisgender) realize that sometimes you may be in a great position to advocate for LGBTQ issues at work while sometimes LGBTQ people aren't comfortable doing so.
Picture this: It is 2006. I am 22 years old and have recently started a job at a library. "Brokeback Mountain" has recently premiered in movie theaters. My supervisor, a co-worker, (who is/was an ally) and myself are sorting new magazines. My co-worker pulls out a copy of The Advocate (an LGBTQ themed publication) and begins talking about how hot Heath Ledger is. My supervisor glances at the picture and agrees, he is hot. But then she says, "Ugh. Of course he's on the cover of that gay magazine. He's probably one himself. Why does everything have to be so gay these days?" Those three sentences, which were perhaps said thoughtlessly, made me feel incredibly uncomfortable around my supervisor from then on. I wish I had felt safe enough (and brave enough) to proudly come out to her and let her know that those comments made me feel uncomfortable. But I didn't. I had only been at the job two months and I really couldn't afford to lose it. Although it wasn't my co-worker's, who was a great person, responsibility to stand up for me and LGBTQ people in general, I would have been so grateful to have an ally in that moment who could have said for me what I was too afraid to say.
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