I love all the rainbows that appear in June. It makes me feel good to walk in businesses and see their PRIDE displays. But business owners and corporations, before you slap a rainbow on your business to get PRIDE sales, ask yourself these 10 questions about being a good ally to the LGBTQIA+ community:

1. How do we advocate for the community the other 11 months of the year?
2. Do we intentionally hire people who reflect the diversity of the rainbow flag?
3. Does our marketing, website, and advertising reflect the community even when it isn’t June?
4. How do we financially support LGBTQ organizations and causes to better put our money where our mouth is?
5. What policies do we have in place to ensure we have a safe, non-violent, affirming workplace for all of our LGBTQIA+ employees?
6. How do we hold ourselves accountable?
7. Are we educated enough about the LGBTQIA+ community, the significance of the rainbow, and why PRIDEis important to be able to explain it to anyone who asks why we’re showing our support in June?
8. How do we handle homophobic, racist, sexist, transphobic, xenophobic comments/behaviors from both employees and customers?
9. How are we demonstrating our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
10. How would we know if our efforts are making a difference for the people we say we are celebrating?

Want help navigating this within your company? Contact me, I can help.

Happy Pride 2021!