Pride Prep

Know the HistoryWhen planning to talk about or honor Pride in any way it is vital that you know the history of what and whom you are acknowledging The Library of Congress offers this quotThe Stonewall Uprising named for the riot that occurred outside of Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28 1969 was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as 39Gay Pride Day39amp160but the actual day was flexible In major cities across the nation the 39day39amp160soon grew to encompass a monthlong series of eventsquot In addition know how and when this became part of American culture Not only does this give you insight into the history it also gives you guidance amp160some of your older employees may lack this knowledge due to having not had it occur early in their lives whereas some of your youngest employees may not know of a time before this occurredIn 1994 a coalition of educationbased organizations in the United States designated October as LGBT History MonthIn 1995 a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the National Education Association included LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative monthsNational Coming Out Day October 11 as well as the first quotMarch on Washingtonquot in 1979 are commemorated in the LGBTQ community during LGBT History MonthDon39t Lie For SalesMany companies slap a rainbow on their product during this time They do this because so many seek out inclusive companies to support see the rainbow and buy While this may boost sales it can also lead to a public relations nightmare This is because some companies make no actual effort to be inclusive For example if a company sells rainbow bottles of product in June but its leadership donates to political campaigns to undermine samesex marriage there is a disconnect Customers are savvy and they have social media so it39s a bad idea to try to increase sales with rainbows if you are harming the community the rest of the yearFollow the Leaders amp8230 Then Become aamp160Leader Worth FollowingOther companies are doing an excellent job of tying Pride branding into their own companyMarketingWeek highlights the success of liquor brand Smirnoff They note quotNot only does the drinks brand highlight LGBTQ issues in its marketing but it also uses its influence to train bartenders and ontrade partners about homophobic incidents and gender pronounsquot In a prior article within this MediaVillage column we explored a recent advertisement by Pantene which supported transgender youth If they put their product into rainbow bottles it would align with their overall messaging and make senseAs you consider whether to wrap your product up in rainbows think about what messaging you39ve put out already Have you or your leadership donated money resourcesamp160or time to antiLGBT programming or political campaigns Have you created or enforced inclusive actions or language in your business If not now is a perfect time to get to work on those changes so that when 2022 Pride comes around you39ll be ready to appropriately rainbow up your world and grab the bump in salesGet Going and Don39t StopPride is only a month or a season long The calendar has eleven other months and three other seasons However LGBT people are LGBT people for all twelve months and during all four seasons Allyship is crucial for the safety of your employees and for all Of course no one becomes an expert overnight Start at the beginning give yourself the grace to spend time working on it and you39ll get there in no time Don39t know where to start This article from Cosmoamp160is a great first read For those ready to take action there are LGBTQ organizations that cover everything from politics to homelessness youth to elders rural to city Show up wherever you can however you can as much as you canClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Pride Prep

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Kryss Shane

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