Celebrating Pride Month in the Workplace

It’s that time of the year again! For every month of June, we continue to be allies to our friends, partners, and to all members of the LGBTQ+ community and we are one with them in celebrating this Pride Month!

Why do we celebrate Pride Month?

Let’s start from the beginning. We will first talk about what Pride Month means and what it stands for. Around the world, June is known as the LGBTQ Pride Month to commemorate one of the most significant events in queer’s history - the Stonewall Uprising.

The Stonewall Uprising happened in Manhattan where police clashed with LGBTQ+ protesters and served as the tipping point for the movement. 

Celebrating Pride Month: Here are a few tips to celebrate safely!

Given the pandemic all over the Globe, the celebration has also shifted to digital. Here are some ideas to virtually celebrate Pride month in the workplace:

Zoom Trivia Night

Here at Sprout we have something that we call “Your daily 1%.” That 1% means a knowledge or fact that you have learned for the day. Our Rockstars practice a culture where we promote learning and development each and everyday.

Every month, we have trivia nights for the whole company through Zoom - a very useful tool for virtual events. You can hold interactive and engaging virtual nights for your company to celebrate Pride, here are some topics that you can cover:

• The Rainbow Flag - the original rainbow flag was raised and flown for the first time at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco, 1978. It was designed by Gilbert Baker and he assigned different meanings to each of the colors:
  • Hot Pink: Sexuality
  • Red: Life
  • Orange: Healing
  • Yellow: Sunlight
  • Green: Nature
  • Turquoise: Magic & Art
  • Indigo: Serenity & Harmony
  • Violet: Spirit
• Before “Pride” - When the early Pride events started, they were more militant in nature and are more often referred to as “Marches” the common names for those marches were “Gay Liberation” or “Gay Freedom”.

• The Largest Pride Parade - Held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1997, started with a humble number of 2,000 attendees but it has since grown to millions. In 2006, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded the Sao Paulo’s parade as the largest Gay Pride celebration in the world!

A Pride Facebook Frame

You can also use a Facebook frame to signify that you are an ally or a member of the Pride community. Sprout has always been an innovator and a forward thinking company and we have crafted a Facebook frame for everyone’s use this month!

You can use this link to find the frame.

Online Pride Parade

You can host an online Pride Parade! You and your friends may not be able to gather and participate in Pride marches that are in person but you can recreate the experience virtually by using online platforms to stream yourselves or host an online parade. 

Important Tips to Remember in Celebrating Pride Month in the Workplace

• Do not force employees - everybody has their own opinions and other people in your organization may belong or carry religious beliefs that conflict with Pride. Respect everyone and spread love.
• Avoid Stereotypes - The LGBTQ+ community is diverse, it is best to avoid stereotypical statements and judgements.
• Express Allyship and Inclusivity - Pride is about togetherness, tolerance and acceptance. We celebrate love in all forms, shapes and sizes.

Sprout prides itself as a forward thinking and progressive company. Our Rockstars that are members of the Pride community are greatly appreciated and respected for the work they do here at our company.

Happy Pride Month!

Cheers!