As many companies scramble to prepare their rainbow logos, banners and flags for LGBTQ Pride next month we at The Honeycomb Works encourage you to not do anything -  well anything performative, at least.

We see it every year. A lot of people in HR or marketing are still wondering what they should do to commemorate Pride Month in June. They are worried that doing something seems (or more accurately perhaps is!) disingenuous.

But doing nothing just feels...wrong. 

So we thought we’d share some advice!

Pride Month celebrates LGBTQ+ communities globally. It started as and still is, a protest. Pride Month is a time to recognise the efforts and contributions of people that form the LGBTQ+ community and highlight the work that still needs to be done to ensure that those that are a part of the community do not suffer from discrimination and oppression. Quite recently it was reported that the UK  government has shared plans to ban “practices intended to change people's sexual orientation” yet these plans did not include practices that try to change someone’s gender identity. This illustrates that society has inched forward with LGBTQ+ inclusion but still has miles to go!

Like Black History Month, there is an ongoing debate about what to do for Pride Month because while it is a powerful and necessary recognition of LGBTQ+ communities and a reminder of the painful history, it has become a tokenistic gesture as organisations try to pile a large portion (sometimes even all) of their LGBTQ+-related activity into 30 days.

So! Rather than trying to rush to put something performative together, here are five things you can do instead:

Don’t hold an event, sponsor one instead

People who are interested in LGBTQ+ history and are interested in supporting and uplifting the community will be flooded by worthy, interesting things to do in this one month. Instead of adding another one to an already extensive and perhaps overwhelming list, find a worthy organisation - a not for profit, DEI organisation or small business - that is holding an event. Amplify their event by promoting it on your well-trafficked channels. You could also ask your employees who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community to nominate an event or organisation to sponsor. 

Plan and announce your commitments for the next year

The point of dedicating a month or a day to a group that does not get a fair share of resources is to focus attention on them. Often leaders will realise that their organisation is not as inclusive as they thought - our advocates and allies research report discovered that 100% of HR representatives believed that work was safe for a marginalised group, while members of said group disagreed. 

Upon this realisation, leaders will express that they are listening, learning and reflecting but we must now ask what did they hear - and what have they done? If not that much, now is the time to act on what you learned. 

Take action and demonstrate how you will use that information to create and promote an inclusive culture at work. Use this time to look at your strategies for LGBTQ+ inclusion, interrogate your policies for unintended bias and plan the actions to address them for the next year. Share with your team that this is the time to develop a plan to build the strategy and implement the plan. 

Do not ask your LGBTQ+ employees for extra labour, offer to support them instead

This could mean donating to a cause they support, hosting something they request or if they do want to do something themselves paying them a bonus for their efforts and giving them work release to get it done; making sure it reflects positively in their performance review. In short, reward people for the extra work they do to improve the culture of your organisation - it delivers tremendous value and should be treated as such. 

Build your networks and introduce your employees to them

This month is a fantastic opportunity to diversify your organisational networks and look to build partnerships with LGBTQ+ institutions, community networks, and LGBTQ+-owned businesses. Although we suggest doing this before or after Pride Month as they will be very busy this month. Take this month to research the organisations you want to be in contact with and get in touch in July. Set up meetings to find out more about what they do and explore if there are any initiatives you can support them with. Also, take the opportunity to introduce your employees to these networks.

Follow us on LinkedIn to find out our recommended list!

If you are holding an event, pay people you invite to speak

If you’re inviting a LGBTQ+ expert to speak or contribute to an initiative you are creating, it is entirely contradictory to ask them to do this for free while telling your external and internal customers that you celebrate underrepresented groups and recognise that inequalities exist.

Ironically LGBTQ+ experts and leaders are constantly asked to work for free or in exchange for exposure which gives the message that their time or expertise is not valued. So seek to pay the experts that you reach out to.

Whatever you do, do something that adds value to your LGBTQ+ employees and their lived experience at your business rather than engaging in performative activism.

How is your organisation celebrating Pride Month? Join the conversation on LinkedIn!