June marks international Pride month: a month dedicated to supporting and celebrating members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. But Pride isn’t just about rainbow flags and celebrations about inclusion. For real allies of the 2SGLBTQIA+ community, Pride means engaging meaningfully with the history of Pride—from its early movements, including the Stonewall Riots—and what it means to support all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community thoughtfully and long-term. So, let’s talk about how you can best celebrate Pride month in the workplace.
But first, let’s establish what 2SLGBTQIA+ means.
2SLGBTQIA+ stands for 2-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, and asexual and more. That is, these are some of the many, many identities folks under the “LGBT” umbrella use to describe themselves. Some of these refer to an individual’s gender or their sex (they’re not the same!), some refer to their sexuality.
In many countries, it is especially important to emphasize the inclusion of 2-spirit peoples and to place them at the beginning of the community title. This is to demonstrate that, as the University of Winnipeg notes, “Two Spirit Indigenous people were the first sexual and gender minority people in North America.”
Crucially, your Pride cannot only benefit one kind of 2SLGBTQIA+ community member. It needs to include and support members who are People of Colour, disabled, unhoused, and lower-income, as well.
How You Should Not Treat Pride Month
The problem with companies participating in Pride month is that it often feels unintentional and meaningless. Often, companies slap a rainbow flag on their company logo and market their products or services with Pride-adjacent assets and call it allyship.
The reality is, rainbow-washing and false allyship can actually be very detrimental and even life-threatening to those who feel unsupported and taken advantage of for marketing and sales.
So, this month and in the months following June, ask yourself if your Pride practices are genuine or if they fall into the misuses of allyship.
An opportunity for rainbow-washing
Rainbow-washing is probably the most common practice of false allyship during Pride month. It’s the term often used to describe the practice of using rainbows and 2sLGBTQIA+ community-adjacent material to target certain populations for sales. (To reiterate: no, slapping a rainbow flag on your product does not make you an ally.)
A passing trend or box to tick
If you’re hanging a flag in the office or putting your pronouns on LinkedIn just so you can claim you’re a pro-2SLGBTQIA+ company in your job descriptions, you’re not actually a pro-2SLGBTQIA+ company.
Pride month is not a box to tick or a task to complete. It’s a month meant for mindful reflection and action, especially for those outside the community. Interacting with these matters mindfully, then, means doing things meaningfully and learning about why these matters are important, rather than doing them because you’re told to or because you “should.”
Like labour for your 2SLGBTQIA+ colleagues and employees
It’s a great sign if you’re excited to learn from this blog and from your fellow employees. It means you care about these matters and you’re ready to grow and become a better ally to your 2SLGBTQIA+ colleagues, friends, and family members.
But remember, June is not homework month for these folks. It’s not their labour to be doing for you or others to feel like better allies. This is your responsibility to take on. So, do some research.
Go to your local library or search the web for credible and supportive 2SLGBTQIA+ resources. Often, the best resources are written by folks in the community who have lived experiences and have already done the labour for you to learn from. So, take this burden off your coworkers and take the initiative to learn for yourself.
How to Celebrate Pride Month at Work
So, with the above said, how should we do Pride month in the workplace? Here are some actionable and meaningful steps you should take this month and in years to come.
1. Rewrite Policies and Benefits Company-wide
You can hang as many rainbow flags as your budget allows, but intention only means something when it’s put into action. And action starts with you and your organization.
Implement action and meaningful change in your workplace by reviewing company-wide policies and procedures. This might look like removing any gender-specific language around parental leave or partner benefits. It also might mean updating your employee code of conduct to ensure discrimination and harassment is not tolerated in any way with language that specifically targets 2SLGBTQIA+ employees.
On a larger scale, it might look like renovating your bathrooms to be gender inclusive instead of gender restrictive—i.e., only male or female.
TIP: If completely renovating two separate bathrooms isn’t feasible, you can completely change how your company thinks about your bathrooms by changing the signs on the front of the doors. Instead of only thinking about bathrooms in binaries, think instead about what the differences in these facilities are.
Usually, the gender on the washroom door can more effectively be described by stating that they have either urinals and stalls or just stalls. Gender doesn’t really have anything to do with the facilities you use, does it?
On a smaller scale, it might look like something as easy as adding your pronouns to your email signature and LinkedIn pages. This will encourage others to showcase the pronouns they would prefer, as well. After all, many employees feel unsafe or uncomfortable correcting others when misgendered, especially if the person misgendering them is a manager or supervisor.
However, it is crucial you do not make this mandatory. This is because many employees feel unsafe sharing their personal pronouns. If an employee does not make their pronouns known, you can instead simply refer to them by their first name. It’s as easy as that. It might sound repetitive, but it’s their name! That’s who they are, and it’s more accurate than misgendering them.
For more information on using pronouns, check out this great blog post from PFLAG here.
2. Offer Free 2SLGBTQIA+ Education and Resources
For many employees, especially those less tech-savvy or those with less access to 2SLGBTQIA+ resources online or otherwise, education can be limited.
You can support all team members by printing and emailing accessible and free resources across your company. Some good resources to start with include:
- This blog page on the Egale website with lots of very pressing 2SLGBTQIA+ matters
- This video on the history of the Stonewall riots and Pride month by LGBTCenterNYC.
- This webpage from the Canadian Mental Health Association with resources and crisis hotlines
- Discrimination and oppression disproportionately affect 2SLGBTQIA+ populations, so having these resources is crucial for their mental health and wellbeing
3. Organize company-wide events in celebration of Pride
Organizing a company-wide event or celebration for Pride is a great initiative you yourself can start. Send invitations to everyone in the area to attend a local Pride parade or other event that supports and celebrates the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This will help you show rather than just tell your team members about your dedication to the community.
As well, when you show your support, you’re also demonstrating to your team members that they too ought to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. And whether your team members are openly part of this community or not, your support can make a world of difference in your workplace.
4. Make charitable donations
June is a great month (but not the only month) for supporting a local 2SLGBTQIA+ charity! You can make a donation in your company’s name, or anonymously if you want to avoid appearing performative in your action. Either way, your donation will go a long way and in doing so, your company will be actively supporting local community members and directly making change for the better.
If you’re in Toronto, like we are, there are lots of great charities to donate to (in no particular order!), including:
- Friends of Ruby
- Toronto Pflag
- Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (a non-profit theatre group!)
- The 519
- Egale Canada
- Rainbow Railroad
5. Put up and keep decorations long-term
Seasonal decor can be really fun to have around the office when it comes to certain holidays like halloween or Valentine’s Day. The difference with Pride, however, is that this is not just a seasonal occasion. Pride month is about amplifying 2SLGBTQIA+ voices—voices that should already have a platform. So, if by the end of June you’re taking down your rainbow decor and flags, you’re sending a message to your co-workers that their time is over until next year.
Instead, keep a Pride flag up in the office all year long. This shows you’re supportive, welcoming, and actively engaging with 2SLGBTQIA+ matters mindfully long-term. And of course, employees will take notice.
And this goes not just for decor, but for all activities and implementations over the month. Taking anything back will also send you a step backwards. Keeping these actions and ideas present and consistent will show you’re dedicated to growth and supporting your team members long-term.
From all of us here at Workwolf, happy Pride! 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️
