Is there still a need for Pride month?

The answer is an unequivocal “Yes.” Pride is a time for reflection and celebration, and this year we have seen events organized in even more towns and cities across the world, from San Francisco to Toronto, in European cities including Istanbul, Cluj, London and Madrid, alongside Shanghai, Manila, Sydney and Bangkok, as well as Mexico, Rio, Buenos Aries, Asuncion, Bogota, and more. But this great celebration has taken place against a backdrop of varied levels of LGBT acceptance across the globe.

Building off a discussion we started in January at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Are LGBTQ Rights Going Backward, just last week we convened a panel of three distinguished commentators to examine the current ‘state of the nation’ for the LGBT community around the world.

Kate Staff, Operations Director of All Out; Graeme Reid, LGBT Rights Director of Human Rights Watch and Nellie Borrero, the Accenture Managing Director of Global Inclusion and Diversity discussed many of the questions that you all had submitted to me in my previous post - the role of business, the role of the ally, how to advocate for LGBT rights in a global setting.

Watch the discussion here to hear the advice and perspectives of these global leaders.

For me personally, I continue to believe that business has a role to play in helping drive these changes needed in many countries. As Nellie stated, at Accenture, we strive to protect our staff wherever they work. We believe that equality is non-negotiable and for us, Pride at Accenture is no different. We have created a global network, which brings together people of all forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, along with Allies, for networking, mentoring, and information-sharing. And many of them have been celebrating Pride in local offices across 41 countries.

This is part of our ongoing campaigns and activities. We run a very successful Allies program, where we expect these people to speak up if they uncover any activity that runs counter to our target of becoming inclusive workforce, something that we believe all organizations should aspire to. 

For me, I echo all of the perspectives shared by my colleagues here and I hope we continue to see businesses like Accenture continue with their progress to create an ever-more inclusive and diverse workplace.