It’s Pride Month, which means that it’s time to start thinking about the various ways of celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community in your workplace. Celebrating Pride Month is important to employers; not only does it show employees that they are welcomed and celebrated as a valuable part of your organisation, but it also reflects well on the business as a whole to customers, clients and others in the industry. By celebrating Pride Month, you are sending the message that you care about the wellbeing and happiness of any of your employees who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

How to Support LGBTQIA+ Employees

There are a lot of ways to support LGBTQIA+ employees, a lot of which are centred around starting conversations with your team and finding out what LGBTQIA+ employees need from you as an employer.

• Speak to Your LGBTQIA+ Employees – As Pride Month is all about celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, it makes sense that you should speak to LGBTQIA+ employees directly. Find out what they would like to see implemented at work and ask them what changes they would like to see made, if any. Though you shouldn’t single out individuals, an anonymous poll or survey can be useful. It gives employees the opportunity to share their opinions without the worry of anyone else finding out. This is especially important to any members of the LGBTQIA+ community that aren’t ‘out’ yet at work, or those who would prefer to keep their suggestions anonymous.
• Raise Awareness via Training and Education – Diversity in the workplace is always a positive thing, and it’s something that should be thought about throughout the year. However, Pride Month is the time when a lot of employees are paying attention, making it the ideal time to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues via training, education and discussions. You could cover topics such as how to be a better LGBTQIA+ ally, how to create a safe workplace for LGBTQIA+ employees and how to support LGBTQIA+ youth.
• Encourage Employees to Share Uplifting LGBTQIA+ Content – Use your organisation’s main communication platform and encourage employees to share their favourite LGBTQIA+ photographs, artwork, content, music, literature and more. Not only does uplifting content help to inspire people, but it brings people with a shared interest together. It’s also a good way for employees to share supportive resources and information. Coming up with prompts – such as My First Pride or My Favourite Thing About Pride Month – is a great way to inspire people.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that Pride Month isn’t related to all industries, as it’s something that employers in all niches and sectors should be aware of. The LGBTQIA+ community is large, growing and part of every business. Happy Pride Month!

Author: Danielle Asano | Profile | LinkedIn