Five ways to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride all year

Pride Month is a time to celebrate the vast, intersecting identities of the LGBTQ+ community, however, pride and LGBTQ+ identities should be celebrated all year long, not just for one month.

Pride Month is a time to celebrate the vast, intersecting identities of the LGBTQ+ community. While countries worldwide celebrate Pride at different times during the year, the United States primarily celebrates in June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, also known as the Stonewall Uprising. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. Protests continued for five days as the community demanded fair treatment and the ability to live their lives authentically without fear of violence or arrest. The following year, the first Pride Parades were held to honor the anniversary of this pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history, and the tradition continues today. However, pride in LGBTQ+ identities should be celebrated all year long, not just for one month.

  1. Attend (or host!) an event
    If your organization has an LGBTQ+ employee community or affinity group, there may already be ongoing events planned that you can get involved in. Talk to your leaders to find out what they’re working on and how you can help. If your organization doesn't host internal events, search for virtual or local events that you can attend with teammates, or consider hosting something yourself!

  2. Share your pronouns
    One of the simplest ways to create a safe environment for transgender and non-binary employees is to normalize sharing your pronouns (the words we use to refer to others in place of their name, like he/him/his, she/her/hers, and they/them/theirs). Include your pronouns in your email signature, Zoom display name, Slack, or other tools, and invite your teammates to do the same. This small change takes just a few seconds and helps lift the responsibility of sharing pronouns from being solely on trans and non-binary employees.

  3. Review your company’s policies and norms
    Pride was built on advocacy. What better way to honor LGBTQ+ history than to work toward making your company more inclusive? Gaps and challenges are often invisible to those who don't experience them personally, from HR systems and processes to benefits, workplace norms, language, and more. By calling attention to limitations, exclusive language, or barriers to access for LGBTQ+ employees, you can have a direct impact on improving the experience for current and future colleagues.
  1. Support queer artists and businesses
    No matter what kind of media you consume (books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, or music), there are plenty of queer creators to support and learn from directly. We also recommend intentionally purchasing from queer-owned businesses and organizations. At work, this could look like reading a book by an LGBTQ+ author, and catering a book club discussion from a local queer-owned restaurant. If you're inviting queer professionals to speak at your company, compensate them for their time!

  2. Support an LGBTQ+ non-profit
    Donate your time or money to an organization that works to support and protect the LGBTQ+ community directly. Many cities have LGBTQ+ centers that provide critical care locally, or you can support national non-profits like The Trevor Project and the Transgender Law Center. Many LGBTQ+ organizations see an influx in donations or volunteering during Pride month, so it's important to continue showing your support for these organizations all year round.

Find more resources on building belonging at work here, and check out the first enterprise SaaS ecosystem for building belonging at work, Mindr Connect.