Pride Month, celebrated in June in the UK, is a vital time for the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies to honour the struggle for equality and the ongoing fight against discrimination. However, recognising and supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals shouldn't be limited to a single month, organisations should focus on making people feel they belong within their businesses all year round. Changing your company logo to a rainbow, posting about Pride related topics for a month and showing support for a short period of time doesn't go far enough. Businesses have a unique platform and responsibility to foster inclusivity and celebrate diversity all year round, but what's the best way businesses can show continuous support whilst still being authentic? This blog covers tips and hints on how businesses can show support all year round.
Educate and Inform: Things changes so much in a short period of time. Words that were used years ago are no longer appropriate and it can often be hard to navigate. Equally everyone can't be expected to know everything about everything. Businesses can provide educational resources and training about LGBTQIA+ history, issues, and terminology to help create a more informed workplace. As an example:
Inclusive Employers provides a glossary of terms to help people understand more about language and making sure people feel comfortable using the right terminology. You can see the glossary here: https://www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk/blog/lgbtq-glossary/
The BBC provides content which provides an overview of the history of Pride which could be used as the basis of content to help inform employees about the roots of Pride, you can see the articles here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52872693
Authentic Support: Go beyond rainbow logos and slogans (although these things are great in conjunction with other lasting actions!). Offering authentic support includes implementing policies that protect LGBTQIA+ employees, and supporting LGBTQ+ causes and charities. Finding a balance is really important, you don't want to go overboard with excessive policies, think about what's important, needed and what you can realistically deliver on as a business when publishing new policies. Making sure you have a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and harassment and promoting an environment that fosters inclusion is incredibly important.
Year-Round Commitment: Make LGBTQIA+ inclusivity a year-round commitment. It's important that everyone feels included within your business all year round. This can be done by highlighting LGBTQIA+ stories and achievements regularly, and ensuring that diversity and inclusion are central to your company's values. I'm a big believer in making sure everyone feels that they belong within organisations and would urge organisations to foster workplaces that focus on belonging as this goes hand in hand with diversity and inclusion. You can find out more about diversity and inclusion by watching our YouTube video here:
Inclusive Hiring Practices: Ensure your hiring practices are inclusive and diverse. According to the CIPD, a ridiculously small 28% of employers provide training on the legal implications that come with recruitment and interviewing. Providing training on inclusive recruitment could include providing training to hiring managers on inclusive language and creating job postings that are welcoming to all. All too often we assume managers know everything there is to know about management and recruitment, but it's important to make sure Managers have the support and knowledge they need to conduct recruiting in an inclusive way. The CIPD has produced an employers guide to inclusive recruitment which you can see here:
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Disclaimer
All information within the post is provided for guidance only; always seek your own legal advice.
The information with this post was correct at the time of publishing, June 2024 but may be subject to change.
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