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:
- How do we advocate for the community the other 11 months of the year?
- Do we intentionally hire people who reflect the diversity of the rainbow flag?
- Does our marketing, website, and advertising reflect the community even when it isn’t June?
- How do we financially support LGBTQ organizations and causes to better put our money where our mouth is?
- What policies do we have in place to ensure we have a safe, non-violent, affirming workplace for all of our LGBTQIA+ employees?
- How do we hold ourselves accountable?
- 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?
- How do we handle homophobic, racist, sexist, transphobic, xenophobic comments/behaviors from both employees and customers?
- How are we demonstrating our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
- 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!