What Does Pride Month Mean to Me This Year?
By Karen Young
IBIS Senior Consultant
As a North American, white, cisgender lesbian, I plan to make Pride this year an active opportunity to honor those who came before me and do what I can to make it easier for those who follow.
Those who have come before have been resilient, visible, and vocal activists for equality. They are members of a diverse global community who have risen from isolation and silence to create progress that some, if not all, are experiencing today. Here’s a brief history that was curated by the AARP: https://youtu.be/Q1D65SxzojI.
I’ll never forget my first PRIDE experience, walking into a community energy that was overwhelming, exciting, and bold. A temporary world where social and loving interactions, gender expression, and identity could simply be. It filled my eyes and heart. This experience, an all-too-rare opportunity to be oneself, in community, in public. I am grateful to all the activists who created that opportunity.
And then it’s over until another PRIDE in another city or another year.
In my day-to-day work, I consult with organizations and individuals about how to foster environments where individuals, including LGBTQ people, are able to experience safety and mental well-being at work, to experience the all-too-rare opportunity to be oneself, in community, in public. And, as an individual in the community, I am committed to making the path more inclusive today and in the future.
I support and join efforts to create positive change, non-discrimination, and safety for TQBIPOC (Trans, Queer, Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color) individuals of all ages at the Trans Resistance March in Massachusetts. I donate to support LGBTQ youth who are experiencing isolation, depression, and housing insecurity through the work of BAGLY and Host Homes. I actively connect individuals and organizations with opportunities to learn and connect with the LGBT community through Pride In Our Workplace and the MALGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Please join me in making this PRIDE a time to honor, celebrate, re-energize, and re-commit to LGBTQ equality. There are many ways to make a difference!
Participate in LGBTQ career days at local universities
Develop LGBTQ workplace practices and policies
Create a talent acquisition strategy to hire trans and non-binary individuals
Include LGBTQ-owned businesses in your vendor strategy
Join the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Participate in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index
Support legislative advocacy to address discrimination and advance equality
IBIS is ready to help you and your organization create a culture in which LGBTQ individuals can thrive. Contact us today to learn how we can help.
Happy Pride!
Karen Young (she/her/hers) is a senior consultant with IBIS, where she focuses on inclusion as an innovative and strategic lever for business results.
