Pride month is 30 days dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ communities all around the world.

It teaches tolerance, educates about pride history, and reminds us that we need to continue to strive for equality.

It is about being proud of who you are, no matter who you love.

Accepting others is a big part of diversity and inclusion – which are two essential topics in today’s business and recruiting world.

Many studies have shown that a working environment filled with employees of different backgrounds, experiences and knowledge leads to:

• Higher revenue for the company
• Increased productivity
• Growing the business though a better understanding of customers
• Greater creativity and innovation
• A greater range of skills
• Boosting the likelihood that people want to join and stay at a company
• Happier employees!

So, organisations are taking a more proactive stance on employing a diverse workforce. This is where we (RecruitmentJunky) come in!

This pride month, we wanted show our involvement in three core ways:

1. Be diverse and inclusive when we are recruiting candidates
2. Support diversity and inclusion in our company with colleagues
3. Be leaders in diversity and inclusion with our partners

We wanted to take steps that will have an impact. So here are the ways we’ve stepped up this pride month…

Changing our icon and imagery during pride month and beyond

Like many other companies online, we temporarily changed our logo on social media to show our pride in pride month.

However, we’re not stopping there. Where relevant, we will be using LGBTQ+ people in a wide range of our publicity materials (not just in documents specifically aimed at the LGBTQ+ community).

This is to send out a clear message that we recognise the positive contribution that LGBTQ+ people can make to our society and that our entire organisation welcomes LGBTQ+ people.

Sharing on social

Throughout June, we shared both internally and on our social media channels:

1. Announcements on how we, and our partners, are supporting pride month
2. Top tips and resources for better inclusivity and diversity in the workplace
3. Stories from LGBTQ+ figures

We think it’s particularly important to raise awareness about pride in the tech sector. There is a diverse range of LGBTQ+ people who have done incredible things in the industry – from Alan Turing, to Lynn Conway, Megan Smith, Tim Cook, Angelica Ross and many more!

Respecting pronouns

Our language has a big impact. We ask all our staff to listen to how people describe their own identity, gender, partners and relationships and
reflect their language preferences. Asking and correctly using someone’s preferred pronouns is one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their gender identity. It’s especially important in showing respect for the trans community.

This is why we’re also asking all our employees to include their pronouns on their LinkedIn profile and in their email signatures. Here’s how you can update your LinkedIn:

A guide to pride month

It’s not just about how we show the world we’re inclusive recruiters. It’s also about us.

We designed an internal guide to help our organisation be more welcoming to LGBTQ+ people. It will help with creating an environment that is safe and open to everyone and become a reference point for future use.

The guide outlined:

• What pride month and LGBTQ+ is
• How RecruitmentJunky would be getting involved
• What steps our recruiters could take to be more inclusive towards the LGBTQ+ community
• Other steps our staff could take to support pride month
• Links to useful resources and charities

People who identify as LGBTQ+ are extremely diverse.

They come from all walks of life: from any race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or socioeconomic background.

It’s important not to stereotype or assume when recruiting candidates, working with colleagues or talking with clients.

Ultimately, everyone should be treated with equal respect, regardless of their sexual identity or gender.

Happy pride month!

We know there are plenty more steps for us to take, but this is just the beginning. If you have any additional tips for us, want to discuss ways that you can make your company more inclusive, or want to talk about anything mentioned in this blog, please feel free to email us at info@RecruitmentJunky.com.