For many, Pride Month represents a time to celebrate hard-won battles for LGBTQ+ equality in the last 60 years. Pride’s roots trace back to the Stonewall riots of 1969 which brought the struggle for equality into the mainstream consciousness for many people. While it is certainly a festive month, filled with celebrations, Pride Month also represents the ongoing struggle to attain true equality under the law, and in the hearts and minds of so many people in the United States today. While Pride Month may feel like all rainbows and love, it really is the continuation of the movement for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people everywhere. So while attending a parade is a great way to stand in solidarity, we have a few suggestions about how you can support the LGBTQ+ community in more concrete ways this month and always, specifically in your workplace.
Check your allyship
Being an LGBTQ+ ally is about more than wearing a rainbow pin and watching Queer Eye. Both are great of course but are not enough in and of themselves. Do a bit of work yourself. Learn more about the history of Pride Month, along with what struggles LGBTQ+ people find in the workplace, and what issues continue to keep them from feeling safe coming out to coworkers. Know what language is the most inclusive, and use it. Be sure that stereotypes and anti-LGBTQ+ centered jokes are not tolerated in your organization. Ensure your allyship is real, and not performative, then do some organizing!
Organize a learning event, or a lunch series
Pride Month can be a great time to host a lunch series, focused around different pieces of LGBTQ+ history, or begin a book club that meets to discuss books by LGBTQ+ authors and centers that community. It may be a great way to learn more, get to know your coworkers better, and enjoy getting away from your desk for lunch.
Host a DEI workshop
This may also be a time to bring in an outside consultant/ firm to facilitate a workshop around diversity, equity, and inclusion for your organization. Your colleagues bring many different identities to work with them each day. Pride Month can be a great time for you to share what makes DEI work so critical and why the goals of equity and inclusion are imperative to strive for, on every level.
Evaluate your organization’s policies and standards
While it may not exactly be your role in your organization, you can reach out to HR or others to better understand your organization’s policies and standards as they relate to general inclusivity, all the way to bathroom standards, and parental leave. Inform yourself, and then work towards any changes that may be necessary to make your place of employment as inclusive as it can possibly be.
Create or distribute simple swag
It’s ok to have fun too! Stickers of different flags of the LGBTQ+ spectrum can be great for workstations, along with postcards that indicate the pronouns you use, and that you affirm all identities. It’s ok to have fun with Pride Month too! But it’s important to make sure that your actions are more than just small performances, but have real substance behind them!
For more tips and suggestions on how to achieve an inclusive workplace, check out our website at https://adrconsultinggroup.com and schedule a free consultation!
