Pride Month: Have you earned the right to that Rainbow Logo? Find out

Pride month is upon us again, and we’re bracing for the avalanche of rainbow logos reaching out from shop windows, corporate emails and advertising.?All good right?

Well... It’s time to ask what these businesses really mean when they ‘go rainbow’ – are they doing it because they have ‘earned the right’ through inclusive policies as a supplier, employer and customer??

Are they a business which denies a lesbian disabled customer the use of the appropriate toilet – subjecting them to ostensibly unlawful interference in one of their stores??

No end of ‘LGBT Sandwiches’ can substitute good staff training, a serious commitment to customer service and inclusion and diversity at the heart of a business.

Or perhaps they are a multinational entertainment business which pays 10s of millions of dollars to ‘comedians’ who refer to Trans Women as ‘rapists’.?

Which doubles down on their patronage of such shows and refuses to see the very real link between these ‘jokes’ and the real-life violence and abuse that it enables.

Are they a business that makes political contributions to representatives with a track record of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation?

At a time when across many parts of the world, hard-won rights are in danger of being rolled back, and legislation to secure equality under the law is held up by politicians spreading harmful tropes around the safety of ‘women and children.'?

We see millions donated by companies happy to ‘go rainbow’ in June but also happy to support the US political figures refusing to ratify the long-held up US Equality Act.

And then we ask – what do they mean for their staff???

Are there comprehensive policy frameworks in place to protect LGBTQ+ staff in the workplace,?are benefits packages supporting Trans healthcare – at a time of soaring waiting lists and gatekeeping, do they extend such benefits as IVF treatment to lesbian couples?

Are parental leave policies fully equal?

You see, ‘self-ID’ is not just a so-called ‘debate’ raging in the field of Trans equality and dignity – it’s one which is prevalent in corporate attitudes to Pride.??

You simply can’t self-ID your way into being an ally – personal or corporate – being an ally is an active role and it means 365 days a year of commitment.?

Queer people don’t stop being queer on the 1st of July – businesses can’t forget or denigrate the community for 11 months and expect plaudits in June for performative and cheap support.

This backlash is nothing new, but it IS time to get behind those who hold businesses to account throughout the year.?It’s time to engage with those businesses who want to do better but maybe don’t have know-how.?

It’s time to stop giving your business to those who see LGBTQIA+ as $￡$￡$+ during June.

And for those businesses who practice what they preach.?Wear our colours with Pride – all year round, you’ve earned it; use June to tell us what you’ve done because good humanity is good business.

We need more than awareness. We need action - all year round.

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