June is Pride Month: Why are we celebrating?

Intro

June is the beginning of Pride Season, as many cities and towns around the world celebrate Pride events throughout the summer. These celebrations mark the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which began outside the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, in New York City in late June 1969. This weekend was the first-time LGBTQ+ communities fought back against the regular police raids on the city’s gay bars and clubs.

Then and Now

In the United Kingdom, our LGBTQ+ communities have equal rights, which means that we are protected by law against hate crimes. However, legal protection doesn’t mean that homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia disappeared. Thatcher’s Section 28 caused much harm to the LGBTQ+ communities, and its impact is still felt today as many LGBTQ+ people still live with beliefs that they are "not good enough". We can add to it that 70% of young LGBTQ+ feel that their mental wellbeing deteriorated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, according to Stonewall, a third of LGTBQ+ individuals do not feel safe being open about their sexuality in the workplace. If we add to it data published by the International Gay and Lesbian Association (ILGA World) which shows that many countries throughout the world continue to criminalise and oppress LGBTQ+ people; including 49 countries that punish homosexual acts with imprisonment and 11 countries that use the death penalty against LGBTQ+ people, as a society and the world we still have a long way to go.

Very often heterosexuals people say that they do not have pride events and ask why the LGBTQ+ community should have them. But pride events are a protest, an act of defiance for our full acceptance, visibility, and, most of all, our human right to feel safe. The pride movement was born from oppression, persecution, and discrimination.

There is still much work to be done in terms of public change. Violent crimes against LGBTQ+ people are on the increase, and many hate crimes and hate incidents go unreported. Many LGBTQ+ partners are afraid to show affection, to even hold each other’s hands in public, being afraid of verbal and physical attacks, or worse. We still hear of LGBTQ+ people being thrown out of their homes and disowned by their families.

Solutions (workplace view)

You might see many companies changing their logos to the rainbow colours, also called the Progress Flag, which represents the diverse communities of genders, sexualities, and relationships. Displaying the flag is good but it certainly is not enough. But, celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month, Pride, or Trans Day of Visibility just as you would other important days in the calendar boost LGBTQ+ awareness and inclusion throughout the year.

LGBTQ+ support should be at the core of any Diversity and Inclusion policy, with some companies having a separate one dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ+ colleagues. But policy on its own is a tick box exercise, conducting LGBTQ+ training in the workplace as part of equality, diversity and inclusion agenda allows ensuring that policies are heard across business and everyone is more mindful. It is also crucial to remember that policies, trainings, and the general approach should have a gender-neutral language, which avoids bias towards the particular gender.

Clearly stating your pronouns (i.e. she/her, he/him, they/them, or a mixture of pronouns, such as she/they or he/they) has become a way for everyone to normalise not assuming someone's gender. When everyone gets into the habit of stating their pronouns, this helps trans and non-binary people feel more comfortable stating theirs. You can learn more about pronouns and their importance here.

Supporting LGBTQ+ allies and creating safe places to talk is another simple but important element in ensuring that LGBTQ+ colleagues feel safe. Sometimes just a talk can achieve a better result than any other company-wide initiative.

Why?

Everyone should behave like a mindful decent human being so everyone can feel free to be themselves. When people are comfortable with whom they are, wherever they are, the workplace environment becomes more productive and inclusive, resembling one integrated organism where everyone and everything is in synergy.

"Love people and let them love themselves for who they truly are."