Pride Month, celebrated every June, is a time to honor diversity and celebrate the history, achievements, and ongoing struggles faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride offers a month-long focus on visibility and awareness, advocacy and education, community and support, and celebration. It’s a time to reflect, act, and promote LGBTQIA+ rights.
For employers, it’s a time to ensure that you cultivate a supportive and inclusive workplace environment for all employees, with a special focus on LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace. Inclusivity is about more than just recognizing diversity. It’s about promoting a culture where everyone feels valued and respected, including LGBTQIA+ employees. When you celebrate Pride at your organization, you’re doing your part to raise awareness, foster diversity, and build a culture of inclusion — and that’s good for everyone.
There are countless ways to celebrate Pride Month at work, and engaging or involving all employees, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, helps promote understanding and enrich your community. Cultivating an inclusive culture in the workplace benefits every team member. Keep reading to learn 16 ideas on how to celebrate Pride in the workplace.
16 Ways to celebrate Pride Month at work
Think of June as an opportunity to demonstrate your support for the LGBTQIA+ community. Celebrating Pride will help you build a more inclusive, diverse workplace culture. Here are 16 impactful ways to honor Pride Month at work so you can promote equality and understanding.
1. Host a pride-themed lunch and learn
Organize a lunch event and invite guest speakers or experts to host an engaging, educational experience. This can allow employees to learn about LGBTQIA+ history, rights, and issues the community faces today, creating a space to learn while enjoying a shared meal. This is also an opportunity to offer LGBTQIA employees a platform to share their experiences.
2. Organize a DEI workshop focused on Pride
DEI workshops during Pride Month are crucial for educating employees about the importance of allyship, the diverse identities within the LGBTQIA+ community, and some of the struggles they face. These workshops provide an excellent opportunity to address gender diversity in the workplace, offering tools and strategies that help all employees understand and embrace a broad spectrum of gender identities and expressions.
3. Decorate the office with pride colors
Pride is anything but dull — it can be a great excuse to use the colorful rainbow to brighten up the office. The visual display of the Pride flag and its colors shows you openly support members of your team who either identify as or love someone who is LGBTQIA+. You can even set up a photo booth with props and decorations for employees to enjoy during breaks.
Important Note: While decor can be fun, be mindful of your intentions. When planning your workplace Pride event, it’s essential to make sure you’re not “rainbow-washing” or using meaningless gestures to show your support. Decorating without attaching other impactful actions to your efforts might be considered flippant or offensive.
4. Feature LGBTQIA+ speakers or panel discussions
Inviting LGBTQIA+ speakers or holding panel discussions can be a powerful way for others to share their experiences and offer insights. Firsthand stories can lend unique and valuable perspectives that help promote empathy and understanding in ways that might be difficult otherwise.
5. Sponsor or participate in local Pride events
Find local Pride events like parades, festivals, or community events, and encourage employees to participate. Consider sponsoring or participating in some of these occasions to demonstrate your commitment to equality. Offer opportunities to volunteer at a Pride celebration or outreach event to foster community. You might even assemble a team to walk in a parade or set up a booth at a local event.
6. Create a Pride Month newsletter
Even if you don’t have a regular newsletter, Pride Month can be an excellent opportunity to produce a special Pride edition, highlighting LGBTQIA+ events, news, and resources. Stuck on what to include? Get creative and share any of the following:
- Stories from employees or families
- Educational content
- Ways to get involved or volunteer
- Historical milestones in LGBTQIA+ rights
- A spotlight on employees and allies
- Health and wellness tips
- Causes you’ll support as a company throughout the month
- Mental health resources
- Upcoming events and activities — both in the office and in the community
7. Support LGBTQIA+ charities with fundraisers
Organizing fundraising events or partnering with charities that support LGBTQIA+ causes is the perfect way to show that your organization is an ally to the community. Be sure to highlight the impact of your donations so that people can see how their contributions are making a real difference. You can:
- Have a bake sale
- Do a charity run
- Host a donation drive
- Contribute to causes and charities
- Have a silent auction
- Sell Pride merch
- Run a virtual fundraiser
- Set up office challenges with entry fees going to a charity or cause
8. Conduct an LGBTQIA+ literature book club
A book club focusing on LGBTQIA+ literature is an engaging and unique way to educate employees and incorporate self-care into your efforts. Reading and relaxation go hand in hand, and discussions can focus on themes and experiences that can deepen understanding and awareness. Invite a trusted team member to suggest literature about Pride history or LGBTQIA+ stories.
9. Provide resources for LGBTQIA+ employees
While support is essential every month of the year, Pride is the ideal time to review the resources you provide LGBTQIA+ employees. If necessary, revamp and revise them to ensure you include benefits like:
- Counseling services to provide online therapy for employees
- Employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Inclusive policies
- Legal assistance programs
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training
- Safe spaces
- Mentorship programs
Talkspace is an online mental health platform that offers convenient, accessible therapy for employees when, where, and how they need it.
10. Promote it on social media
Almost every company has a social media presence today. Use your platform to celebrate Pride all month long. Encourage employees to engage with and reshare your posts to amplify your message. Emphasize equality and understanding in your messages to convey the importance of being an inclusive workplace. Things you can promote include:
- Educational content
- Employee stories
- Local spotlights
- Pride-related events
- Resources for support
- Local LGBTQIA+-owned businesses to support
11. Encourage everyone to “show” their pride
Have Pride dress-up days or casual Fridays with a Pride theme and encourage employees to don their best Pride-themed clothing, accessories, or costumes. Even rainbow pins or homemade t-shirts can liven up the office for the day of your Pride event. Offer to create a collaborative Pride playlist that every employee can contribute to.
12. Volunteer for LGBTQIA+ community projects
Seek out and organize volunteer opportunities where employees can give back to the LGBTQIA+ community. You might do things like:
- Have an afternoon where you help at local centers
- Participate in community clean-ups
- Offer professional skills related to your business to support various LGBTQIA+ organizations in your community
13. Encourage sharing of pronouns in the workplace
Strengthen inclusivity by encouraging employees to share preferred pronouns in email signatures and name badges and on social profiles, website bios, and introductions. Normalizing this practice can go a long way in fostering respect and inclusivity for all gender identities, serving as a demonstration of gender inclusivity in the workplace. It’s an effective way to visibly embrace gender diversity and support a culture of acceptance.
14. Raise funds for a specific LGBTQIA+ cause
Find a specific LGBTQIA+ cause or organization to support for the entire month (or year) and organize fundraising efforts. Donate the culminated funds at the end of the month and see what a significant impact a focused approach can make.
Each of these organizations does incredible things to support the LGBTQIA+ community and would make a worthy recipient:
- The Trevor Project
- GLAAD
- Human Rights Campaign
- Lambda Legal
- PFLAG
- National LGBTQ Task Force
- It Gets Better Project
15. Host Pride trivia
Trivia events can be creative and engaging ways to educate employees while celebrating Pride Month at work. Use questions about LGBTQIA+ history, culture, achievements, legislation, and pop culture. To encourage participation, offer small prizes like gift cards.
16. Attend a live or virtual Pride parade
The Pride parade has had a long history with the LGBTQIA+ community and there are many ways to participate. You may not always be able to make it to a Pride parade in person, but you can usually find a virtual one to “attend.” If a local parade is an option, invite employees to attend as a group. Participating in a Pride celebration like a parade demonstrates your company’s support and solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.
Supporting LGBTQIA+ employees beyond Pride Month
Celebrating Pride Month at work is important, but extending your efforts to support LGBTQIA+ employees beyond June is even more crucial. Sustained support will help your inclusivity and diversity efforts be even more impactful. Continuous commitment is essential to creating an environment where respect, value, and empowerment are the cornerstones of your company culture.
One of the most effective ways you can support LGBTQIA+ employees is by ensuring you offer access to mental health resources like Talkspace. Online, convenient, confidential, professional therapy can be a game-changer for your workforce. Talkspace has licensed mental health professionals who have extensive experience in gender-affirming care and working with the LGBTQIA+ community.
Request a demo today to learn how Talkspace can serve and support your LGBTQIA+ employees.
Sources:
- “The Trevor Project.” n.d. Accessed June 8, 2024. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/.
- GLAAD. 2024. “GLAAD.” GLAAD | GLAAD Rewrites the Script for LGBTQ Acceptance. June 3, 2024. https://glaad.org/.
- “Human Rights Campaign.” n.d. Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/.
- Lambda Legal. 2024. “Home - Lambda Legal.” April 24, 2024. https://lambdalegal.org/.
- PFLAG National. 2024. “Homepage - PFLAG.” PFLAG. February 16, 2024. https://pflag.org/.
- “The Task Force.” n.d. Https://Www.Thetaskforce.Org/. Accessed June 8, 2024. https://www.thetaskforce.org/.
- “It Gets Better.” 2024. It Gets Better. June 5, 2024. https://itgetsbetter.org/.