How To Celebrate Pride Month At Work

Why Is Pride Month Important?

Pride Month is a time to highlight the LGBTQIA+ community and their contributions to our culture. It’s also a time to raise awareness of the ongoing activism to achieve equality and promote acceptance and inclusivity in our society. 

The History of Pride Month

Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor the Stonewall Uprising, which took place on June 28, 1969. This historic event consisted of several days of protests in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. It is considered a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and is often seen as the birth of the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement.

Commemorating the Progress and Recognizing the Work Ahead

While Pride Month is a celebratory time, it also serves as a reminder of the work still ahead. Recognizing the milestones in LGBTQIA+ rights, such as marriage equality and anti-discrimination laws, is crucial. However, it's equally important to acknowledge that many individuals still face discrimination and violence based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Why Pride Month Should Resonate with Everyone

Pride Month isn't just for those who identify as LGBTQIA+; it resonates with everyone who believes in and champions human rights. Embracing the true spirit of Pride means advocating for a society where all individuals can live authentically and openly without fear. It's about teaching tolerance, spreading love, and breaking down barriers.

The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion

We are often told to “bring our whole selves” to work. In reality, this is much easier for some, whereas others don’t know the response they’ll get when they show up authentically. Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not only the right thing to do but it pays dividends, providing positive impacts on your people and business. A workplace that fosters diverse identities leads to improved engagement, increased productivity, and more thoughtful decision-making. When you aren’t worried about hiding yourself from others, you have more time to focus on a united mission.

How Can You Celebrate Pride Month at Work?

There are many ways you can show your support for the LGBTQIA+ community and celebrate Pride Month at work. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Host Educational Workshops and Trainings

One of the best ways to create a more inclusive workplace is to educate your employees and promote awareness and a deeper understanding. Hosting workshops or training sessions that focus on LGBTQIA+ issues, such as understanding different gender identities and sexual orientations, and promoting allyship. 

There are so many creative ways you can create educational opportunities — this can span from trivia to an immersive and interactive deep dive. Be sure you are not expecting anyone from your LGBTQIA+ community to carry the weight of this programming without explicitly agreeing to volunteer. This is a great opportunity to invite speakers from LGBTQIA+ organizations to share their experiences and provide valuable insights.

Create a Pride Month Learning Series

Beyond a one-time event, consider creating a series of learning sessions throughout the month. These could cover topics like the history of LGBTQIA+ rights, intersectionality within the community, or the importance of mental health support for LGBTQIA+ individuals. By spreading out the learning opportunities, you ensure a continued focus on inclusivity throughout the month. These kinds of sessions are also a great way to highlight the benefits your business offers, like Talkspace, Kindbody, and beyond.

Organize Pride-Themed Events

Consider organizing Pride-themed events throughout the month, such as a company-wide Pride celebration. These events can help create a sense of community and get folks to interact with each other in a safe and fun way. This is also a great opportunity to support LGBTQIA+ businesses either through performances, sweet treats, or decorations. Fostering a relationship with these businesses and artists is a great way to showcase their services and provide financial support. Make sure to give them credit with a tag or shoutout in your marketing channels!

Plan Volunteer Activities with LGBTQIA+ Nonprofits and Charities

Engaging your workforce outside of an office setting through community service is a meaningful way to honor Pride month. By planning to volunteer with local LGBTQIA+ nonprofits and charities you are not only providing practical support to these organizations but also giving employees a hands-on way to contribute to the cause. Even better if you offer Volunteer Time as its own time off category.

Highlight LGBTQIA+ Stories and Voices

Use your internal communication channels, such as your company chat or newsletter to share resources and information about the LGBTQIA+ community. This could include featured stories, interviews, and profiles of LGBTQIA+ employees or leaders in the community or movies, documentaries, and articles that promote understanding and acceptance. Sharing personal narratives can help build empathy and connection among your workforce. 

How Can You Create an Inclusive Culture Beyond Pride Month?

While celebrating Pride Month is a great start, creating an inclusive workplace culture requires ongoing effort and commitment. Here are a few ways you can promote diversity and inclusion in your organization throughout the year:

Encourage Open Communication

Encourage open communication and create a safe space for your employees to share their experiences and concerns. This could include creating a diversity and inclusion committee, providing anonymous feedback channels, and promoting open-door policies for your employees to voice their thoughts and concerns.

Don’t forget about allyship! Allyship is the act of showing support and standing up for marginalized communities. Encourage your employees to be allies to their LGBTQIA+ colleagues by helping them see how they can be effective allies through participation in programming to bystander training. 

Create an Employee Resource Group (ERG) Program

Employee Resource Groups are employee-led spaces within your organization for folks to connect and discuss within their own community, but also share and promote their identities with the rest of the company. These can be spaces where employees are encouraged to discuss current events, share personal experiences, and propose initiatives to enhance workplace diversity. You can even consider compensating the leaders of your ERGs for their contributions to your company’s inclusion initiatives. 

Foster Inclusive Language

Language plays a crucial role in promoting inclusivity. Encourage the use of inclusive language in your workplace by developing comprehensive guides and resources that outline the use of inclusive language, and make them easily accessible to all employees. Consider organizing a collaborative workshop where employees can review company guidelines and suggest improvements for inclusivity. This not only ensures that diverse perspectives are considered but also makes employees feel directly involved in the company's diversity efforts. Regularly update these materials to reflect the evolving nature of language and inclusivity. 

Provide Education on Your Benefits and Communicate Changes 

Review your company's policies and benefits to ensure they are inclusive of LGBTQIA+ employees. This could include adding gender-neutral language to your employee handbook, offering gender-affirming healthcare benefits, and providing fair and consistent parental leave for same-sex couples. Make a thorough communication plan to ensure employees understand how to access and benefit from the new or updated policies.

Promote Diversity in Hiring Practices

Diversity and inclusion should also be a foundational pillar of your hiring practices. This could include implementing blind hiring techniques, actively seeking out diverse candidates, and/or providing diversity and inclusion training for interview panelists and hiring managers. The interview process is a common place for subconscious bias and it’s important to ensure everyone has the same level of accountability to challenge any bias that might come into play in the process.

Pride Month is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and promote diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. By hosting educational workshops, organizing pride-themed events, and promoting allyship, you can show your support for the LGBTQIA+ community and create a more inclusive culture in your organization.

Inclusivity Year Round

Promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) should not begin and end with Pride Month. It requires continuous effort and commitment to create a workplace where everyone feels respected and valued. By fostering open communication, promoting allyship, using inclusive language, and promoting diversity in hiring practices, you can build an inclusive workplace culture that benefits both your employees and your organization. 

Get started today and let us help you meaningfully support your workforce year round.