Celebrating PRIDE All Year Long: How to Support LGBTQ+ Community Beyond Pride Month

Hello beautiful people!

Pride Month may be over, but PRIDE is not. This week, I want to talk about supporting your LGBTQ+ friends and colleagues year round, as well as shout out some organizations who are proving to be wonderful allies.

But first, tell me about your Pride! What was your favorite memory? Reply to this email to share 🥰

Subscribe to my Beehiiv Newsletter for More Content on Authentic Leadership

✅ One Big Thing: PRIDE Should Be Year-Round

Pride Month 2024 is officially over, but given the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and a historic election in November, I feel compelled to remind leaders of this simple truth:

Pride should not end on June 30. Real Pride—and real allies—show their colors all year long.

I was blessed with the opportunity to speak at 10 separate events this June, including many corporate engagements with companies like Salesforce, Hasbro, Soho House, and RVO Health.

While I’m grateful that these businesses prioritized LGBTQ+ inclusion during Pride Month, I am even more grateful for the organizations who host LGBTQ+ speakers year round. These companies include Oshkosh Corporation, Cox Automotive, The Experience Network, and RWS Global, all of whom hosted me for workshops prior to June.

I must also shout out CVS Health, Harvard Westlake High School, and the Entrepreneur’s Organization for planning workshops with me later this year.

Corporations that create inclusive workplaces see a meaningful increase in employee satisfaction as well as profits. Companies that DON’T prioritize inclusion face real financial consequences (see my link below in “What’s Worth Fighting For” for the real cost of exclusion).

While Pride support is a financial no-brainer, it has never been just about the money. Creating safe, welcoming, inclusive workplaces for all is a moral imperative. No one should feel unsafe to show their true colors at work. Everyone deserves the freedom to be their authentic selves.

So what can YOU do support your LGBTQ+ employees all year long? Here are some suggestions:

1. Continue hosting LGBTQ+ speakers, workshops and supporting your Pride ERG. Collective Speakers is an excellent source of incredible speakers and advocates (they also happen to be my speaking representation!)
2. INVEST in your DEI initiatives despite the recent backlash. Provide REAL support in the form of executive sponsorship and financial backing.
3. Continue to show philanthropic support for LGBTQ+ organizations, including The Trevor Project, GLSN, and Sage.

Pride Month is a wonderful celebration of our community and we should be proud of the progress we have made. But Pride should also be a call to action… a reminder than LGBTQ+ employees need our support year round.

🌟 Leader Spotlight: Ingrid Nilsen and Erica Anderson, Co-Founders of The New Savant

THE NEW SAVANT is a modern scent studio that creates unexpected and daring olfactory experiences. Our community is made up of New Savants: people who believe in their unique selves and celebrate the individuality of those around them.

As a fragrance company, we challenge people to think differently about scent and expand their definition of what smells good. This can be experienced with fragranced candles like Mixed Feelings, which tells the story of co-founder Ingrid Nilsen's mixed-race heritage, or Heatwave, our best-selling scent which centers notes of dill and patchouli. 

We are LGBTQIA+, AAPI and women-owned.

A lifelong creative and one-time college dropout, Ingrid Nilsen is the Co-founder, Maker and Chief Creative Officer of THE NEW SAVANT. She loves working with fragrance, dreaming up new scents and bringing her online community slow, IRL experiences that connect on a personal level.

Erica Anderson is Co-Founder and CEO at THE NEW SAVANT. She loves developing businesses that inspire her, especially those that can bring people a sense of ease and joy.

Follow The New Savant on Instagram

Follow Ingrid on Instagram

Follow Erica on Instagram

🌈 What I'm LOVING ❤️❤️❤️

• The music and social media of Chappell Roan, introduced to me by my nieces, Katie and Sammie. Watch her Tiny Desk concert… it is incredible!
• Guncle Abroad, the newest book from Steven Rowley, author of one of my favorite books, The Guncle.
• I have been watching Team USA compete at the Olympic Trials over the past few weeks. The passion, tenacity, and heart these athletes show inspires me daily! In case you missed it, watch Simone Biles’ STUNNING floor routine.

Simone Biles stuns on floor night 1 | U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials

✊ What's Worth Fighting For

• LGBTQ+ Board Representation Grows, Albeit Slowly. (LinkedIn) LGBTQ+ representation S&P 500 boards grew from just 4 directors in 2018 to 43 today. While that growth is significant, that number is still just 0.8% of S&P 500 board members (for comparison, LGBTQ+ individuals make up 7.6% of the US population).
• $1 Trillion Dollars: The Cost of Exclusion. (LinkedIn) Research from Accenture found that companies miss out on $1 TRILLION in potential profits from non-inclusive work practices. Listen to Geffrye Parsons’ interview on the Business Gay Podcast to learn more.
• Pride and LGBTQ+ Inclusion is Good for Business. Here’s Why. (Fast Company) According to Erin Uritus, CEO of Out & Equal, LGBTQ+ consumers have $3.9 Trillion of spending power globally. That is a massive number, and speaking from experience, LGBTQ+ consumers are eager to spend money with brands that support them.

🏳️🌈 Read All Pride, No Ego. A USA Today Best Seller!

• Allstora (Queer-owned online bookstore)
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

Love the book?? It would mean so much if you would leave a review.

Last thing...

I hosted a WONDERFUL LinkedIn Live event with Adam Powell (Allstora) and Erica Anderson (The New Savant) last month. If you missed it, you can watch the recording here!

Pride @ Work LinkedIn Live (with Jim Fielding, Adam Powell, and Erica Anderson)

Thank you again for the love and support!

Until next time...

Jim