P id The top ways for companies to take action and show-up for the LGBTQ+ community this june
Support an LGBTQ+ charity by volunteering or fundraising Invite a speaker or host a virtual lunch & learn Encourage employees to learn about LGBTQ+ rights and inclusive language Support LGBTQ+ art and culture to build empathy Implement or review your Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) policy to support the LGBTQ+ community Attend a Pride event Support employees to be allies in June and always! Define your campaign Involve stakeholders & get buy in Prepare and approve internal communications Track your impact How to get started Partner with a CSR platform About Pride Take action this Pride month: How companies can show up this June How to kick off a Pride campaign this year! 2 Table of Contents 3 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 17 17
WhathappenedatStonewall?
This is an event that started in 1970, when protest marches were organized to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
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"TheStonewallRiots,alsocalledtheStonewallUprising,beganinthe earlyhoursofJune28,1969whenNewYorkCitypoliceraidedthe StonewallInn,agayclublocatedinGreenwichVillageinNewYork City.Theraidsparkedariotamongbarpatronsandneighborhood residentsaspoliceroughlyhauledemployeesandpatronsoutofthe bar,leadingtosixdaysofprotestsandviolentclasheswithlaw enforcementoutsidethebaronChristopherStreet,inneighboring streetsandinnearbyChristopherPark.TheStonewallRiotsservedas acatalystforthegayrightsmovementintheUnitedStatesand aroundtheworld.” What is
Pride?
Pride is the promotion of the self affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and all other gender and sexual expressions that don’t fit into the letters (LGBTQ+).
Pride is an opportunity to support the LGBTQ+ community by acknowledging the progress that has been made and committing to take action to build a more inclusive world. Today, the LGBTQ+ community continues to face challenges related to human rights and inequalities.
SDG
United
Finally, supporting human rights also fits in with the Nations Sustainable Developments Goals, specifically 10: Reduced inequalities.
25% of LGBTQ+
LGBTQ+
feeling
A study from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation showed that working in an environment that is not always accepting of people leads to: workers distracted from work unhappy or depressed at work Not only that but research has shown that companies that commit to and foster more diverse cultures and leadership are more successful. Companies can better attract talent, meet their customers’ needs and wants, engage employees, and see improved decision-making.
31% feeling
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There are different ways your company can take action this month to show up for the LGBTQ+ community. To help you, we’ve prepared a comprehensive campaign toolkit with activity ideas for you to engage your employees and start the conversation around inclusivity.
It's important to ask how your company, colleagues and managers can help to make the workplace a more inclusive place and then take action.
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That being said, there are lots of different combinations and options for you to make a meaningful contribution to the LGBTQ+ conversation. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
Some colleagues and managers might not be aware of the issues some employees are experiencing in the workplace in terms of diversity and inclusion. It is important not only to know how your employees see your company in these terms but also to know how your employees are dealing with it. You can prepare an anonymous survey to get feedback about how inclusive your company is to better understand your workforce in terms of sexualorientation, gender identity, gender expression, and level of comfort with sharing this information.
Startbylistening
TakeactionthisPridemonth HowcancompaniesshowupfortheLGBTQ+ communitythisJune?
6 Support an LGBTQ+ charity by volunteering or fundraising Oogachaga PFLAG GenPRIDE (Generations Aging with Pride Rainbow Railroad The Trevor Project GLAAD
The best way to actively show up for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride is by volunteering or fundraising for a local organization that fights for these important human rights. Here are a few organizations that you can support with field volunteering or fundraising:
Invite a speaker or host a virtual lunch & learn Start the conversation with, well, a conversation. You can invite an external expert (here’s a list to get you started) or one of your leaders (or even colleagues) to share their experience or share information people should know about diversity and inclusion. This is also a great way to encourage productive discussions on how the workplace (and the world) can be a more inclusive place.
Encourage employees to learn about LGBTQ+ rights and inclusive language Disclosure:Translivesonscreen Parisisburning GoFish BoysDon’tCry Carol Moonlight TherearemanyLGBTQ+moviesandtvshowsthatteachustherealityofthe everydayissuesfaced.Byhostingamovienight,youprovideyouremployees theopportunitytoconnectwithLGBTQ+charactersandengageinthoughtprovokingconversation. Somegoodexamplesare: andpartsocietyTheteachingIt’sStonewallCorporateexpressionHumanRight’sCampaignGlossaryofsexualorientationandgenderterms.EqualityIndex-abenchmarkingtoolforcompanieson-toolkitsandresourcestobuildinclusiveworkplaces.pronouncedmetrosexual-freeonlineresourcesforbothlearningandaboutgender,sexualityandsocialjustice.languageweuseisimportant.Weuseexpressionsthatwereacceptedbyinthepast,butsomeofthisoutdatedandoffensivevocabularyisstillofoureverydaylife.Getinformedbylearningaboutthehistory,rights,currentissuesthequeercommunityfacestobuildempathyatwork. Herearesomeresourcestogetstarted: LGBTQ+practices. Support LGBTQ+ art and culture to build empathy 7
“Ifwearetoachievefasterglobalprogresstowardsequalityforlesbian, gay,bi,trans,andintersexpeople,businesseswillnotonly havetomeettheirhumanrightsresponsibilities, theymustbecomeactiveagentsofchange.”
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Source
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A supportive policy is an important way to show all your employees that you care and intend to create an environment where they are secure and protected. If you have a policy, consider reviewing it through the lens of LGBTQ+ inclusion.
The UN has also developed standards of conduct for business to tackle discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
This year EuroPride will be hosted in Belgrade, but there are a number of events happening in major cities across the world. Not everyone can have the opportunity to be physically present of course, but there are online events too!
Implement or review your Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) policy to support LGBTQ+ Attend Pride events
There are different companies with good DEI policies, such as Lenovo which scored a perfect 100% on the Corporate Index for LGBTQ+ equality. Or Addepar, for example, who created an AddePride affinity group, formed by 25% of their employees, with the objective to create an inclusive environment.
Check out this international Pride calendar to see what's happening near you. But, of course, this isn't the only event every month of the year you can find events for the LGBTQ+ community! Take a look here.
This is a good way to ensure that you're not simply Rainbow Washing during the month of Pride but actively work year round to support the LGBTQ+ community through your CSR efforts.
Support employees to be allies, in June and always!
An ally is someone who is "actively supportive of LGBTQ people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the LGBTQ community who support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community)."
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation can help empower your employees to become allies, for example, by forming Employee Resource Groups or through training.
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How to kick off a Pride campaign this year
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Supportthe community Pick one flag from the community and wear it for a week to share your support as an ally/member. Expert speaker We're welcominga speakerto joinustotalk aboutthe LGBTQ+ community, inclusive language, andthe importance ofinclusivity.
Pick
planning! Define your campaign 11 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
and
The first step is to decide the schedule: do you want to do an intensive week or spread these activities across 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or the whole month? a cadence start SATURDAY
Pride is celebrated all of June, so why not prepare a calendar of activities that your employees can partake in? That way you can offer different actions that get your employees supporting the LGBTQ+ community. you'll find an example of what this calendar could look like at your You can use this one to share with your employees or use it as inspiration to create your own calendar!
Follow5 LGBT+ individuals onSocial Media Followsome influencers thatforma partofthe queer community onyour favoritesocial media platformto learnabout themandthe issuesthey faceintheir everydaylife. Fundraise foraqueer supportive charity Quiznight withyour peeps! Collect money havingfun withyour colleagues theprizecan bedonated toany nonprofit youlikethat supportsthe cause SUNDAY Attendan LGTBQ+event (virtuallyor in person) Onewayto supportthe community andlearnfrom itisgoingto theirevents, pickoneof yourchoice! There’splenty ofthemhere. Watcha moviearound LGBTQ+ community Thereareso manygreat filmsthat highlightthe community andcanhelp increase awarenessof the complexities thatsurround thesetopics Set upamovie nighttowatch withyour teammates. Bingonight foranLGBTQ+ charity Supportan LGBTQ+ charityby volunteeringto setupBingo nightfortheir teamwhere proceedsgoto theircharity.
Below
company.
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Put together your findings in one document. There are several steps to sharing your plan, they might involve:
You may have some ideas in mind for your campaign. Maybe you want to try and run it manually, or maybe you want to leverage a partner to maximize the impact and participation. Either way, you can offer several options to stakeholders, with specific details about each one and the timeline. It’s also important to emphasize the pros and cons of each to show your research has been done.
Startwiththe‘Why?’
Involve stakeholders & get buy in
Outlinetheimplementation
Laststep:Pitchitinternally
Now that you've shared your campaign idea, it’s time to explain the implementation process: How long will it take? Who needs to be involved? What are the desired outcomes?
An email to your manager/decision maker with the initial idea A presentation for you to adapt to your internal branding
In order to get buy in from your team you need to explain the why behind the idea. The first step is to work out what the problem or opportunity is, explain it, suggest your campaign and highlight the broad benefits to the business and employees. Prepareaproposal
We look forward to coming together for this important cause.
Sincerely, [Name] & approve internal communications
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This is why we want to invite you to take part in our Pride initiative, from [X-Y] June, on [introduce if any platform] through [our Pride calendar]. How can you participate?
This [Week/Month], we're celebrating Pride, to support a workplace where everyone feels included and can bring as much of themselves to work as they Didlike.you know? 35% of LGBTQ+ staff have hidden or disguised this part of their identity at work in the last year because they were afraid of discrimination. We want everyone at [company name] to feel they can be their authentic selves when they stop through our doors (both in person and virtual).
Subject Line: Supporting Pride at [company name]
Let your employees know about your campaign to engage them during the month of Pride, here’s an email template for internal communication:
Take a look at our Pride calendar to find all of the events, fundraisers, and educational session that we'll be offering throughout the week. There are different activities each day - so we encourage you to take part in as many as you like that work for your schedule. As you'll see, all efforts will be going towards charities whose work focuses on supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Prepare
Happy Pride! In honor of the occasion, every day this week we're taking small actions focused around issues that the LGBTQ+ community faces in an effort to support people and nonprofits dedicated to this cause. #PrideMonth #Pride #LGBTQ+ #LoveWins #Equality #CSR #HR #EmployeeEngagement #EmployeePurpose You can also spread awareness on this topic by communicating how your company is taking action on external channels. Not only is this an opportunity to highlight your company's values, it also demonstrates how your involvement encourages other people to get involved as well! Here is a template you can use for your social media: Here's another template you can use when your employees are already engaged in Pride activities: Completed a challenge [name of challenge] Welcomed an expert speaker to discuss LGBTQ+ rights Fundraised X with our colleagues for X charity We’re on day X of our Pride celebration and so far we have: Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far; we look forward to what the rest of the week holds in store! #PrideMonth #Pride #LGBTQ+ #LoveWins #Equality #CSR #HR #EmployeeEngagement #EmployeePurpose [Add picture of employees engaging with the initiative] 14
cAslDMTrackhowmanypeopleparticipatedinyourevents.easurehowmuchmoneywasraised.oafeedbacksurveyrightafterthecampaignandanotheracoupleofweeksatertoseeiftheprogramresonatedwiththemandiftheyarestillfollowingomeofthepracticestheylearnedskanumberofemployeestoexplaintheirstoryorexperiencesothatyouansharethiswiththeteam. Oncethecampaignhasfinished,itdoesn’tendthere!It'simportanttoshare theresultsofthecampaignwithyourstakeholdersandfellowemployees.Not onlywillyoubeabletoanalyzethedatatoshowthehardworkyou'veputinto yourcampaign butyou'llalsobeabletodemonstratetheimpactyou'vehad. Andideallycomparetheresultstopastandfuturecampaigns. Herearesomewaysyoucankeeptrackofyourcampaign: visual.Whensharingdataandimpact,tellastoryanddoyourbesttomakeitThemorecompellingyourreportingis,themorethey'llwanttoshowupforthecausenextyear! Track your impact 15 Protip:
By tracking your impact, you’ll be able to share real, tangible results of your campaign. For example: With this kind of information, you can fully understand if your campaign resonates with your teams and aligns with the values and interests of each employee. Of course, we're well aware of the challenges that come with tracking these metrics manually. Who needs another spreadsheet full of incoherent data? Automated reporting can make it easy to track your campaign engagement 64% of employees participated in the campaign 20% of employees had this as the first time engaging in a campaign 16
17 How to get started There are plenty of opportunities to activate and engage your employees during the month of Pride and it can be a great jumping off point for your organization to start engaging employees in important causes like this on a regular basis. All it takes is some ideas (which you’ve got here!) and a little planning. Want to make sure you are prepared in advance for international days like Pride? The earlier you start the better to get as much buzz and participation within the company. That's why we put together this calendar with some key international days throughout the year. Choose which ones link to your company’s purpose/interests and plan ahead! Trackhowmanypeopleparticipateandcontributetothecampaigntobuild yourcaseforfuturecampaignsandmeasureyourimpact. Giveyouremployeesachoiceofdifferentnonprofitstheycouldsupportaround thecauseonasingleplatform. Connectallemployeesononeuserfriendlydashboardwhichoffershabitforming Challengesandaspacetocelebratetheircolleagues'efforts. Finally,havingapartnerlikeAlayabyBenevitycanhelpyoutomanage thesecampaigns. ACSRplatformlikethishelpsyouto: Partner with a CSR platform
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