The Importance of Celebrating Pride Month

What is Pride Month?

Pride month is the celebration of those who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. During this time, people come together to show how far gay rights have come and what work must continue to be done to result in full equality globally.

The celebration of pride emphasises how important inclusivity is and to not put up barriers that make people feel that they don’t belong – build communities and promote acceptance.

When Did it Start?

Originating in 1969 after The Stonewall riots took place and historically changed gay rights, pride month was coined to remember this event; a time for individuals to come together with love, support and acceptance.

Which Month is it Celebrated?

Pride Month is celebrated annually in the UK throughout June, with many cities dressing the streets for the occasion with LGBT colours, including the gay pride flag, recognised worldwide as the famous rainbow flag! Many major cities additionally hold their own celebratory pride events, including the widely attended London pride parade, the Birmingham pride concert, held in the famous gay village and Manchester’s pride festival!

Although June is the focus for this celebration, it’s also a time to raise awareness. Additionally, it’s crucial to remember that pride must be celebrated throughout the entire year, as the battle for equality is a constant, ongoing effort.

Raise Awareness of LGBTQIA+ Issues

Although we have made fantastic steps towards equality, there is still so much work to be done. This is why we continue to celebrate and promote pride month all these years later, to continue to raise awareness for the past and current issues facing the LGBT community.

Along with pride month, many awareness and visibility weeks take place throughout the year for this community, including Lesbian Visibility Week, Transgender Awareness Week and Bisexual Awareness Week!

Our blog post ‘Celebrating your Authentic Self’ was written for Transgender Awareness Week last year, yet is still incredibly relevant.

Support Local Pride Events

As previously touched on, various cities hold their own pride events to show their support during June. Some of these local events feature singers, famous members of the LGBTQIA+ community and speakers.

Speakers at pride events commonly focus on diversity, equality and inclusion; although there are many routes that can be taken when speaking at pride events, be it adversity, human rights or politics!

Stand in Solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ Community

Pride should create a safe space for the gay community to celebrate a part of themselves they may hide on a day-to-day basis. The colourful celebration allows them to truly be themselves in a place where they feel accepted and appreciated by other community members and allies.

Companies are taking fantastic steps into openly standing in solidarity with the community, for example, Apple has introduced the pride flag emoji and Starbucks released pride reusable cups – to name a few! However as previously mentioned, it’s crucial to remember not to tokenise this month as the only time when pride matters - pride matters all year round.

How Can You Celebrate Pride?

Hosting or attending any event where LGBTQIA+ individuals come together, builds community and celebrates diversity, inclusion and equality. These events also promote opportunities to support those within the community, whilst encouraging acceptance.

You can also celebrate pride by educating yourself on the importance of equality and diversity. Simply learning about this cause is a great way to start, as it’s vital to fully contextualise the meaning of pride month with background knowledge.

Educating yourself on the history of pride also means that you’ll understand the importance of education moving forward. Improving equality and celebrating diversity is one of the main goals of pride month, after all!

If you’re able to, donating to notable charities is another fantastic way you can help celebrate and support pride. There are many incredible organisations that do brilliant work for the community.

Why is Pride Month important for your business?

An inclusive workplace is crucial for cultivating teamwork, appreciation, wellbeing and many other factors that together, create a positive work environment.

Bringing in a diversity, equality and inclusion speaker to speak to your team is a fantastic way to encourage open conversations within the workplace and will also begin the formulation of making work a safe space for community members.

When your employees feel safe at work, it makes the world of difference to not only morale, but business performance; happy team, happy business!

Additionally, being educated on prominent issues (such as pride) can make your work more considered – if relevant to your job and/or industry.

Our friendly, impartial and expert team will find the perfect speaker for your pride event, no matter the subject matter - get in touch today!