A Pride Month to be Proud of

by Helen Bet

Instead of logs on the fire and gifts on the tree, June is more a glitter wings and face paint kind of affair these days, but that doesn’t make it any less festive, or, if we’re not careful, any less commercialised to within an inch of its true meaning, than Christmas.

June’s Pride Month celebrates the resilience, persistence and survival of countless men, women and non-binary folk who, until very recently, were told that they were responsible for committing, and evangelising, the sins of humanity. This is why Pride is, at its heart, a protest. It is a protest against repression, denial, and persecution. That the community chooses to hold this protest in a colourful, loud and vibrant way is very much their choice, but that does not, and should not, diminish the fact that it is a protest.

Companies keen to show their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community (and to earn some of those sweet ‘pink pounds’) have increasingly temporarily rebranded with rainbows in the run-up to, and during, Pride month. Drag Race personalities have their faces turned into logos on t-shirts, flags, mugs, whistles, cookies etc, whilst unicorns and mermaids move to the forefront of adult clothing lines in mainstream shops. Visibility is important, and appreciated, but how can organisations usefully move from a tokenistic (and opportunistic) display to something more meaningful, both to their employees, and to their clients?

LGBTQ+ Allyship is for Life, Not Just for Pride Month

Before homosexuality was legalised, the community needed safe ways to communicate with each other and there is a long historical tradition of fashion being the way in which they did this. Oscar Wilde and his peers sported green carnations to indicate their identities, whilst literate Lesbians would wear violet as a nod to a Sappho poem referencing ‘violet tiaras’ as their signifier. Colours and textiles, therefore, are meaningful to the LGBTQ+ community: they communicate safety. When an organisation chooses to adopt symbolism and insignia that are coded as queer, this tells the community that the organisation is safe. This might be good for the company, but it is bad for anyone whose trust turns out to be rapidly and, sometimes, devastatingly misplaced.

An ally is a heterosexual or cisgender person (or organisation) who supports equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community and who actively challenges homophobia and transphobia. It is not enough simply to put your company logo on a rainbow background and sing along to Erasure on dress-down Friday; you also have to do the work to ensure that the working environment is a safe place for LGBTQ+ colleagues. This benefits not only these colleagues, but the company as a whole, developing a foundation of belonging, trust, and loyalty.

What Can We Do?

Visibility - The more that LGBTQ+ people see their symbols the more comfortable they will feel. Allow colleagues to display a sticker or flag of their choice at their desk; include rainbow as a lanyard choice for your ID badges; include pronouns in your email signature. But be careful, this cannot be the only step. Creating a false sense of safety or security for your LGBTQ+ colleagues could be very harmful.

Representation - like all minority groups, LGBTQ+ people need to see representation in order fully to thrive. According to a 2020 study from McKinsey and Company, less than 3% of global senior and management positions worldwide are held by openly LGBTQ+ people. Provide platforms for LGBTQ+ colleagues to showcase their talents and interests; invite LGBTQ+ ambassadors and speakers into the organisation to share their experiences with colleagues; celebrate senior LGBTQ+ colleagues.

Language - regardless of whether you take the view that language shapes how we think, words are important. Having a work environment that is permissive of homophobic or transphobic slurs will quickly alienate LGBTQ+ colleagues and clients. Take a clear stand on zero tolerance for homophobic and transphobic language; normalise pronoun check-ins and opportunities to share pronouns; use inclusive collective terms (‘team’ instead of ‘guys’; ‘partners’ instead of ‘wives’ and so on).

The good news is that all of this is fairly straightforward to put in place, and will make a positive difference to how your teams feel on a day-to-day basis. The bad news is that if you want your LGBTQ+ colleagues to feel belonging, rather than just tolerance, there is far more to be done.

Creating a Culture of Belonging

A 2022 BetterUp Labs study found that employees who feel high levels of belonging in their workplaces demonstrate a 56% increase in their performance and productivity and a 75% reduction in their sick days, whereas companies where employees feel excluded or marginalised have a 50% greater risk of high staff turnover. So as well being a kind thing to do, creating a culture of belonging also makes great business sense too.

According to Coqual, a non-profit think tank, there are four key elements to a successful culture of belonging at work:

1)    Employees are seen for their unique contributions

2)    Employees feel connected to their coworkers

3)    Employees feel supported in their daily work and professional development

4)    Employees are proud of their organisation’s values and purpose

These things don’t just come about with a few tweaks and additions; they require listening to employees and strategic implementation of cultural change across a variety of areas, from policies to staff socials, from marketing to leadership. Often, companies are not able to manage this change on their own; they are too inside the existing culture to be able to view it objectively, so reaching out for help might be the most effective act of allyship you can make this June. Why not invest in belonging, making your Pride Month, and your organisation, one to be proud of?

Helen is a Diversity and Inclusion consultant and has worked in informal and formal education for over 25 years. During this time, as well as helping hundreds of Millennials and Gen Zs on their paths, she has developed a deep appreciation of how the underlying assumptions and values that organisations hold can act as a barrier to effective learning and professional development.