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Celebrate Pride Month by reflecting on LGBTQIA+ history, promoting year-round inclusion, and understanding your legal responsibilities.
Employment Law & HR|30 May 2025
Insight
Pride Month, or ‘Pride’, is the celebration of the LGBTQIA+, which takes place annually across the month of June.
This period encourages us to reflect on the community’s history and ongoing struggle for equality. It is a time to accept and celebrate the diverse experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals and the need for continued progress toward acceptance and inclusion.
During Pride Month, employers should focus on fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace for LGBTQ+ employees while avoiding practices that could be perceived as tokenistic or exclusionary.
Best practice is to adopt a practical, holistic approach to LGBTQ+ inclusion that goes beyond temporary flags and rainbows. Ideally, all forms of inclusion should be taking place for all 365 days of the year. That said, Pride Month is an opportunity for all employers to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Remember that employers have a legal obligation to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ employees. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender reassignment. This includes direct discrimination; discrimination by perception or by association; indirect discrimination: harassment, and victimisation.
Employers must ensure equal treatment in all aspects of the employment sphere- for example, in recruitment, training and promotion, the day-to-day experience of employees, interaction with colleagues and clients and during any processes such as dismissal.
The Deloitte Global 2023 LGBT+ Inclusion at Work Survey indicated that only half of LGBTQ+ workers felt comfortable being out at work, and 38% of the respondents to the study said they experienced non-inclusive behaviours at work, such as unwanted sexual comments and jokes at their expense. It would therefore appear that workplace culture has some way to go.
Employers should ensure there are clear procedures for reporting discrimination, harassment, or bullying and ensuring complaints are taken seriously and addressed promptly. There should be no hierarchy of rights. Staff training and raising of awareness are also key.
Aside from managing legal obligations and reducing the risk of claims, having a workplace that is inclusive to all will boost recruitment and retention; increase employee engagement; and promote the organisation’s reputation.
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