Feb was LGBT history month.
February is LGBT History Month,?and as you think about what to do for it here are some ideas.
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What do we need to achieve?this month?
IMHO three?things that are important for the LGBT community and ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) to land?during LGBTQ+ History?month?are:
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1.?LGBT History is “your’ history whoever?‘you’?are.
2.?LGBT Hate is a relatively modern phenomenon.
3.?ESG?and CSR?aren’t?just?about?Sustainability and Climate Change
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1.?LGBT History is “your’ history whoever?‘you’?are.
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." -- Nelson Mandela
Society should be judged on how it treats its marginalised. Whether that’s refugees, different faiths or us, queer folk. We all hold collective responsibility for moving our society forward. We no longer burn witches; we no longer bomb our streets over religious differences?and we no longer chemically castrate war heroes for?their sexuality?(Alan Turing?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing?).
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We do however still maintain the names of Servicemen convicted of being gay in the?British?armed forces on the?today’s?sex offenders register?and in America they?don’t?lynch black men in?trees,?but policemen are still kneeling on necks. History impacts today?and while we have come a long way since Stonewall, it’s not over.
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This month is an ideal time to reach out to our colleagues and remind them that the fight for Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, LGBT Rights are all just part of the fight for Human Rights and when we edge society forward towards egalitarian ideals we make the world safer, fairer and better for all of us.?LGBT History is part of that struggle and so is part of everyone’s story.
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2.?LGBT Hate is a relatively modern phenomenon.
Did you know that in Egypt there is a crypt dedicated to?2 married?men?Khnumhotep?and?Niankhkhnum?the?world’s first recorded same sex marriage 2400 BC..?(and?yes?they did in fact run a nail salon for royalty!), so literally 2000 years before Christianity. Gay Marriage is?in fact,?older than sin.
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This month we should try and show to our non-LGBT colleagues that Hate for us is only a few hundred years old. Whether Ancient Briton Men?'although Celtic women were beautiful, their men preferred to sleep with each other'?according to?Diodorus?Siculus?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodorus_Siculus?the 1st centuryhistorian, Ancient Greeks and their ‘Pedarasty”?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty_in_ancient_Greece?for citizens or Ancient Aztec tradition of Twin Sprits?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-spirit?(Me.. a subset of trans) LGBT has been embedded in human society since we crawled out of the sea. It’s as natural as gas and as commonplace as political corruption.?
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3.?ESG?and CSR?aren’t?just Sustainability and Climate Change
As businesses we are aware of how important ESG?and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)?is. Better employee acquisition, retention and productivity but we have a tendency to focus on current affairs and that drives the conversation to Climate change. But the S and the G (Social and Governance) and the need to improve these things as well are rooted in our history. This month is a great time to talk about?how business should respond. Afterall lots of the seismic shifts in society first started?in the?office.?Think about what the reaction would be today to someone smoking in the office and if you can recall the furore over the change in acceptance of this behaviour.??
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How do we as ERGs do it?
Be?out,?reach?out,?know your history, know your heritage, communicate and?educate.
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Talk to everyone about History this month, send links, articles, Ted talks, Netflix shows?for example:
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??10 events from LGBT History?https://www.stonewall.org.uk/node/43992
??Disclosure on Netflix?https://www.netflix.com/title/81284247
??Ted Talk:?Yoruba Riches:?What the gay rights movement learned from the civil rights movementhttps://www.ted.com/talks/yoruba_richen_what_the_gay_rights_movement_learned_from_the_civil_rights_movement
??Johnathon Van Ness ‘Curious: Can we say goodbye to Binary’ on Netflix?https://www.netflix.com/watch/81361143?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Cc95f8ac6921f81c77127de8a7c39c5dacf006f08%3Ac3fb1d037fe2c521ce587a17e1af091f51e890c5%2Cc95f8ac6921f81c77127de8a7c39c5dacf006f08%3Ac3fb1d037fe2c521ce587a17e1af091f51e890c5%2Cunknown%2C%2C%2CtitlesResults?Includes a really interesting round table discussion?
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Run a?work history?Film Night
Loads of options but?my pick would be the 2014 film Pride, which tells the history of how?and why?the TUC adopted LGBT rights into its constitution and then forced the?Labourparty to do the same giving us the rights we have today. It’s also got a kick ass soundtrack!?And a?star-studded?English cast, Bill?Nighy?as an old closeted Welsh queen, an?amazing performance. Not just LGBT history but a history of British politics.
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Book readings
Outrageous!:?The Story of Section 28 and Britain’s Battle for LGBT Education
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And?a?final?thought.
The Cis-gendered Heterosexual world?may?look at LGBT History month as ‘not for them’?they may not (like I did) cry at the end of ‘Pride (2014)’ and vow to always vote labour and they may not understand or care about the issues we face today until their family members come out.?But if we can make them see that the struggle for equality is universal and the freedom to be whoever and whatever we want benefits everybody?we may move ahead a little.
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As?Martin?Luther King, Jr?said?“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”?but,?it?can only be seen historically,?February is the month to look?back and smile at how far we have come.
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Nicci Take
Owner GWA Supplies - Australia
2 年“Society should be judged on how it treats its marginalised. Whether that’s refugees, different faiths or queer folk. We all hold collective responsibility for moving our society forward” - well said Nicci.
I am now retired and planning to enjoy all of the things I had no time for whilst working Thank you all my Siemens Healthineers colleagues. It’s been a blast
2 年Thanks for sharing. Insightful as always