Matters of Pride: behind the scenes at Unmind HQ

How we spent a month celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, and why we’re determined to flaunt our flaws 

Inclusive workplaces make for better businesses. That’s not opinion, but fact.

A 2018 Deloitte survey revealed three-quarters of millennial workers say their organisation is more innovative when it has a culture of inclusion. Nearly 9 in 10 job seekers claim workplace diversity is an important factor when choosing a role. And study after study shows a clear link between employee diversity and company success, on a global scale.

That’s a rather long-winded (and data-heavy) way to say: diversity and inclusion matter. At the world’s greatest companies, every month is Pride Month.

Pride is about much more than rainbow logos

Technically (calendrically?) speaking, June is when society comes together to celebrate LGBTQIA+ (that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, and asexual and/or ally) communities. Or, perhaps more accurately, June is when corporations come together to show support, loosely centred around the anniversary of the Stonewall riots back on 28 June, 1969. While in the UK Pride events take place across the summer, globally they happen all year round. 

In 2020, Covid-19 saw most Pride marches cancelled, or held online. And yet, such setbacks only serve to inspire organisers and organisations alike to innovate, and adapt, with panache. Because, as we all know by this point, Pride month, represented by rainbow logos and little more, is no Pride at all.  

Last June, heaps of international groups united for Global Pride 2020: a 24-hour live stream of artistic performances and speeches that featured a beautifully diverse cast – from Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and the President of Costa Rica, to Dixie Chicks and Olivia Newton John.

This year, stacks of brands have marked Pride with campaign launches focused on inclusivity and action. (Aesop, for instance, rolled out a ‘queer library’ – encouraging customers to leave stores with books spotlighting a LGBTIA+ voice or story; free of charge.)

How Unmind showed its Pride

Here at Unmind, we did Pride a bit different. For us, it was all about internal comms, not a splashy campaign. The aim was simple: to educate and celebrate.

Here’s what it looked like.

Pride-themed history lessons

A handy primer of famous LGBTQIA+ stories, serving up bitesize nuggets of knowledge to Unminders. Among the issues covered were Stonewall, Section 28, and the following post about codebreaking superhero, Alan Turing.

LGBTQIA+ heroes 

An absorbing collection of personal accounts, as shared by/with Unminders. Each one focused on an individual in the LGBTQIA+ community who’d made a difference to the person posting. Here’s one example:

LGBTQIA+ library

An open-source directory for iconic and intriguing books, TV, films, podcasts and music, this was Unminders’ chance to shout out anything they feel speaks to the queer experience or culture. Entries were categorised by type (i.e. film, book, TV) and theme (e.g. drag, romance, trans, HIV epidemic), with some boasting accompanying notes.

In case you’re interested, Maurice by E.M. Forster is: “A tale of homosexual love in early 20th-century England, it follows Maurice Hall from his schooldays through university and beyond. Both book and film are beautiful in every respect.”

As for To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar: “Wesley Snipes in drag.”

Pride-based information sharing 

Similar to the history lessons above, these posts unpack LGBTIA+ issues – especially ones that are fluid and evolving. Posts include gender as a spectrum, intersex identities, and the Progress Pride flag (as explained below):

Raising awareness around relevant charities 

These posts shine a spotlight on the vital work carried out by worthy non-profits around the world. Each time, there was a specific focus or theme – for example, trans youth.

The following explored LGBTQI+ refugee charities:

There's still work to do

We’ll end with a disclaimer: The purpose of this blog is to hold up a mirror, not show off. Seriously.

Unmind rarely ruminates on itself; our job is to help you. That’s employees, and employers, to live more fulfilling and balanced lives, and reframe the conversation around mental health. But we also believe championing Pride – and our LGBTQIA+ colleagues, friends and loved ones – is as important as it is necessary. Especially at a time that traditional, in-person celebrations still aren’t all too easy.

That said, Unmind is not perfect. No one company is the bastion of best practice, and it’s key to acknowledge your own shortcomings. And in this case, we’re keen to do so out in the open. As though we take diversity and inclusion very seriously, a recent deep-dive into the makeup of Unmind staff revealed LGBTIA+ workers are under-represented in senior roles. This becomes more apparent for women and people of colour in the community. 

While these hiring decisions weren’t conscious, it shows we still have a way to go. Ultimately, our goal is for Unmind HQ to be not simply a diverse workplace, but one that’s truly representative of our brilliant modern society.

Why share this? As we know that, to quote this very blog, inclusive workplaces make for better businesses. And that when employees feel seen and heard, they’re more likely to feel comfortable. This means they’re more likely to bring their true selves to work. In fact, a quarter of employees point to comfort as what drive their feelings of belonging.

Until we nail this, we’ll get back to work. And continue holding up a mirror to ourselves. In June, for sure, but also every other month.