Pride Month had become an affinity month that lives in two places in my mind.

First, it is the celebration of who I am, who I married, and progress towards true recognition and justice.

Second, it is a period where organizations mumble through encouraging statements, high-fives, and rainbow merchandise most of which I honestly won’t wear … and certainly won’t buy!

This duality has caused a bit of an internal struggle, as I watch most organizations take up space in a perceived effort to capitalize on and market to the Queer Community, while never instituting change with the intention of longevity.

However, there remains a huge opportunity for companies big and small to do something purposeful and use this moment to create a meaningful sustainable impact.

The truth is most organizations still do not know what to do to express allyship and inclusivity, but they desperately want direction in this space. So, they show up in June waving the rainbow flag smiling so big like “Hey – look we did it!” Unfortunately for them, we can hold those flags ourselves. The month of recognition is nice to have, but what members of the Queer Community deserve from their places of work are the policies, procedures, language, and systems that not only support who they are, but affirm who they are through company sponsored practices.

In celebration of Pride Month, we would like to affirm the Queer Community by lifting the burden of explanation and ideas.

We are offering a conversation on Applying Allyship with leaders in the people space. This dialog will touch on the topics of where we start, how can allyship be applied tangibly, inclusive language and practices, and providing structure internally to make these ideas a reality.

Therese Procter and Marty Belle, who both have global experience in bringing these ideas to life in many organizations, will be hosting FREE virtual seminars from 10.00am CDT / 4.00pm BST on Thursday June 17 and Thursday June 24, 2021.

We would love to see many of you attend to join our conversation, so please CLICK HERE or scan the QR code below to register.