Ways to Celebrate Pride Month at Work

What Is Pride Month?

People worldwide recognize June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, in recognition of the anniversary of the June 1969 Stonewall Riots — six days of rioting in Manhattan which pitted members of the LGBTQIA+ community against city police. Patrons of local gay and lesbian bars in the Greenwich Village neighborhood fought back when police turned violent during a raid of the local Stonewall Inn. 

How (Not) to Celebrate Pride Month 

Today, companies of all sizes celebrate Pride Month. Given the gravity and importance of this historical event, it’s crucial to make these celebrations respectful and meaningful. That means ensuring your company’s Pride celebration is, first and foremost, authentic — not a marketing campaign created to increase profits or appease a market segment. It shouldn’t be treated as a trend or as something solely for the benefit of LGBTQIA+ customers and employees. Your company’s Pride celebration should be both internal and public-facing, rooted in diversity and inclusion values your organization supports every month of the year, and involve all employees company-wide.   

Incorporating rainbow imagery into your logo for a month may be a start, but there should be more. Here are ways to celebrate Pride Month that make an impact on your workforce and community. 

Ideas to Celebrate Pride Month At Work

1. Address the history

It’s important to educate yourself and your employees on the rich political history of Pride Month and its significance for the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color. While rainbows are a happy image, this holiday was born in pain. Pride Month is a time to celebrate the progress made since the Stonewall Riots and also a time to consider how we can progress in the future. Make it a priority to bring understanding to these issues.

2. Update company email signatures by recommending pronoun use

Words are meaningful. While we work to eliminate words that offend underrepresented groups, it’s also important to acknowledge that some words can positively support identity. Defining pronouns - he/she/they - and why they are important to share is an impactful inclusive practice for everyone.

3. Volunteer for LGBTQIA+ events or nonprofits

Offer employees opportunities to volunteer at Pride Month events, organizations-in-need, or LGBTQIA+ community centers. In addition to helping others, volunteering builds team unity, strengthens working relationships and collaboration, and sets the stage for positive acceptance and appreciation of people with different backgrounds and lifestyles.  

4. Encourage LGBTQ+ employees and/or allies to share their stories

Support opportunities for willing employees to share their Pride stories, whether those stories are about themselves, their child, or close friend or neighbor. Strive to be inclusive of younger and older members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color. Ask leadership to be vulnerable as well as their stories are especially impactful and encourage others to share. Whether it’s a newsletter, company intranet, social post or live sharing in a team meeting, these are all opportunities to help LGBTQ employees feel seen and heard and to give others the opportunity to learn something new and make meaningful connections.

5. Allow allies to show support 

This is a perfect time to encourage allies to make their support visible. Visibility for a cause leads to broader understanding and acceptance, as well as a more inclusive climate. Promote ally sign-up and participation in LGBTQIA+ employee resource groups. Enable allies to add a rainbow image to their employee directory or intranet profile. 

6. Prioritize year-round diversity and inclusion initiatives at a systemic level

The issues faced by underrepresented groups aren't confined to the LGBTQIA+ community or to the month of June. Pride Month can be a good kick-off point for making improvements to year-round corporate diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts. The best way to support LGBTQIA+ employees is to actually check in with them and ask what benefits and policies they feel should be in place. Also, ask them to suggest things they have seen work well at other companies.

Kanarys is Your DEI Champion

At Kanarys, we are the diversity, equity, and inclusion people with the data-driven approach. Since 2018, Kanarys has aimed to change the world by creating equitable workplaces where everyone belongs. We guide your organization’s DEI path every step of the way with courage and collaboration. It starts with data, analytics and insights, and continues with recommendations and implementation. 

Our mission, as your partner and champion in the ever-evolving DEI journey: Help you understand what it takes to foster lasting, systemic change today and for tomorrow. Because when you succeed with DEI, your employees can thrive—and so can your organization.