10 Ways to Celebrate Pride Month at Work

Celebrating Pride Month at work is an opportunity to show your LGBTQ+ employees, new hires, and job candidates that they’re safe to bring their authentic selves to work and fully engage in their roles, contributing to a positive, collaborative company culture and boosting productivity.

We interviewed 15 LGBTQ+-identified, US-based employees for insights on their experience in the workplace, on Pride Month, and on overall workplace inclusivity. Here’s what they shared, along with 10 celebration ideas suitable for budgets of all sizes.

Editor’s note: Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

The history of Pride Month

The first Pride demonstrations happened in June 1970 in New York City, in commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising that took place a year before and launched the US LGBTQ+ rights movement as we know it today.

Every year since, the LGBTQ+ community and allies from around the world have come together in June to celebrate LGBTQ+ identity and liberation and to demonstrate for equal rights and protections under the law.

Refer to this LGBTQ Community Calendar for exact dates you may want to acknowledge or coordinate activities around for the month of June.

Why celebrate Pride at work

The LGBTQ+ community is a growing demographic with a long history of exclusion from equal rights and protections in and out of the workplace. It’s safe to assume a significant portion of your employees, customers, and prospects either identify as LGBTQ+ or have loved ones who do. According to recent Gallup data, almost 1 in 10 adults in the US identify as LGBTQ+, with 1 in 5 (21%) Gen Z adults identifying as such, followed by 14% of Millennials, and 5% of Gen Xers.

This estimate has risen steadily since Gallup began measuring the percentage of LGBTQ+-identified US adults, with the demographic rate more than doubling from 2012 to 2024.

Support helps LGBTQ+ employees feel safe at work

Most of our interview participants, who all worked in the US at the time of the interviews (July 2024), reported feeling safe and included in their workplaces. They shared positive experiences of supportive colleagues and environments, such as bosses and coworkers using correct pronouns and stepping in when needed.

“One time at my admin job, a customer made a homophobic comment, not knowing I was queer,” a participant recalled, “and my boss specifically went out of their way to say, ‘Hey, I'm sorry that happened. We support you.’”

However, even when interviewees worked in an inclusive workplace culture, some still had negative experiences with individuals at their job. In other cases, their supportive workplace stood in contrast with negative experiences at previous jobs.

Prioritizing inclusion reduces fear and discrimination

Regardless of how employees express their identity in the workplace, feeling safe and included shouldn’t be a perk—it should be the norm. But that wasn’t always the case for the employees we interviewed.

While some participants believed personal identity should be kept private as a matter of professionalism, others preferred not to be out at work due to fear of negative reactions. “I’ve been so scared about openly being who I am,” said one interviewee, “I just hide my identity.”

However, not every LGTBQ+ person has the option or desire to hide their identity at work, and the strain of concealment and other minority stressors can take a particular toll on mental health. This is why cultivating an inclusive workplace is crucial to the LGBTQ+ employee experience.

Unfortunately, global research into the LGBTQ+ experience as of March 2025 shows that LGBTQ+ workers around the world regularly experience discrimination and harassment.
And they may not be as likely as their non-LGBTQ+ colleagues to speak up about what they’re experiencing, either to their supervisor or HR.

In our recent Bad Boss Index report, 70% of LGBTQ+ employees say they’re either very or somewhat concerned about manager retaliation when speaking up about workplace issues, compared to 59% of the total sample, similar to employees of color.

This is a recipe for low morale, disengagement, burnout, and costly turnover, not to mention the legal risks posed by potential workplace discrimination allegations.

Inclusion programming mitigates these risks. Psychological safety is critical to organizational success—in fact, almost all respondents (89%) to a McKinsey survey rated psychological safety in the workplace as essential. And according to organizational anthropologist Dr. Tim Clark, inclusion is the foundation of psychologically safe environments.

When people feel psychologically safe (free from ridicule, rejection, and retaliation), they’re able to do their best work and be their best selves. Here are a few activity ideas to consider as you create programming that works best for your employees and your company.

10 Pride activity ideas for the month of June

Don’t discount the impact of a small gesture. Even if you don’t have the budget for big workplace Pride Month activities this year, here are a few meaningful ways you can participate:

1. Recognition statements: A simple statement of support and acknowledgment from company leadership can be incredibly meaningful. This can be shared through internal communications channels, such as Slack, Teams, email, or company newsletters.

2. Internal newsletter features: If you do an internal company newsletter, dedicate a section to Pride Month, highlighting LGBTQ+ employees or customers (with their consent), sharing resources, and promoting local and internal Pride events.

3. Pride-themed virtual backgrounds/email signatures: Offer company-branded Pride-themed virtual backgrounds for video calls and email signatures. This is a simple yet visible way to show support not only to your employees, but to your broader customer base and target audience.

If you have a larger budget to dedicate toward engagement activities for Pride Month, here are a few suggestions to consider in addition to the ideas above:

4. Sponsored lunches: Organize one or several lunch-and-learns throughout the month to give employees the opportunity to mingle, celebrate, and learn about Pride Month and LGBTQ+ history.

5. Educational workshops/webinars: As part of your larger inclusion programming calendar, host workshops or webinars on LGBTQ+ inclusion, allyship, and unconscious bias.

6. Guest speakers: Hire inclusion and workplace culture leaders, LGBTQ+ activists, or community members to share their experiences and insights at a lunch-and-learn or to lead a workshop.

7. Pride parade/festival participation: Organize a company group to participate in a local Pride parade or festival. This is a powerful way to demonstrate public support and solidarity. In our interviews, some LGBTQ+ employees noted how company participation in parades had a particularly positive impact on their feelings of safety at work.

8. Annual Pride shirts and swag: Design and distribute branded, Pride-themed shirts employees can wear to internal and external Pride events, or other swag they can use or decorate their workspaces with.

9. Charitable partnerships and volunteering: Partner with an LGBTQ+ organization for a fundraising drive or volunteer event.

Supporting your LGBTQ+ employees throughout the year

Creating an inclusive workplace for all of your employees, where everyone is safe from discrimination and harassment, positively impacts your LGBTQ+ employees’ ability to fully engage with their teams and in their roles.

The following policies and practices will help you promote inclusivity year-round:

Create and enforce non-discrimination policies: One employee put it simply: “There should just be strict non-discriminatory policies in place, and it shouldn't be just about LGBTQ. It should be in general: you just don't discriminate against anyone.”

A clear and comprehensive non-discrimination policy is the cornerstone of an inclusive workplace. This policy should explicitly prohibit discrimination and disparate treatment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, in addition to other protected characteristics.

However, simply having a policy isn't enough. Companies must also conduct formal HR investigations and follow through with disciplinary action when violations occur.

Build a supportive environment: Feeling safe and supported is essential for LGBTQ+ employees to thrive. “Please, let's just include people,” one participant said. “We're part of this free country that's supposed to let us love and do and say and act how we want. Why is it so hard to support people who want to do just that?”

Creating a supportive environment involves fostering a culture of respect and empathy. Your partnered LGBTQ+ employees should be able to feel as comfortable bringing their significant others to work functions as their heterosexual colleagues.

Use correct names and pronouns: Respecting employees' names and pronouns is a fundamental aspect of creating a welcoming environment for your transgender and non-binary employees. “That's a really big source of frustration for trans employees,” said one interviewee, “when there are systems in place that kind of ‘out’ you and you don't have a say in it.”

Use an HRIS that normalizes pronoun sharing by including options for employees to add their pronouns, and ensure that everyone in the workplace uses them correctly.

Recognize LGBTQ+ relationships: Company policies and benefits should recognize and support LGBTQ+ relationships. This includes using gender-neutral language in documentation and providing equal and inclusive benefits, such as fertility benefits and parental leave.

“I have a lot of queer friends who struggle with creating a family,” said one respondent, “so I think fertility benefits are a huge way to really put your money where your mouth is.”

Collect regular feedback: Use anonymous surveys to gather employee insights, host open forums or town hall meetings where employees can share their thoughts and suggestions, or establish a suggestion box where employees can submit ideas for inclusion programming at any time.

Create employee affinity groups: An LGBTQ+ affinity group or ERG provides a resource for your LGBTQ+ employees to build community and find support from their colleagues. ERGs aIso help you engage and coordinate directly with your LGBTQ+ employees as you organize Pride events and activities, such as panel discussions and lunch-and-learns. These groups can also help you make inclusion a priority year-round, not just for Pride.

As one of our respondents pointed out, holidays in general can be challenging for LGBTQ+ people.

“Showing care and maybe having some sort of a safe place for these people during certain holidays,” they suggested, “where they can go to and talk and be with others who are maybe in a similar position. I think that's how you show genuine inclusivity in an ongoing way.”