DBP Members Celebrate LGBTQ Pride!

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month in the United States and throughout other parts of the world, established to recognize the impact that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on the world. Originally established in the U.S. as “Gay Pride Day” to honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots, Pride has expanded in many places to a month long celebration including pride parades, picnics, parties, educational events, memorials for those lost to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS, and other group gatherings. The last Sunday in June in many cities continues to be Pride Day.

We asked DBP member companies what they are doing to acknowledge and celebrate Pride this year and this is what they shared with us:

Bank of America

At Bank of America, being a diverse and inclusive company is essential to our ability to drive responsible growth and serve our clients, communities and each other. We believe that encouraging our teammates to bring their whole selves to work is important for the success of this company. We do our best work when we are supported and celebrated for our diversity. Celebrating our LGBT+ teammates during Pride month is an important part of our ongoing commitment to LGBT equality.

Throughout the month of June, we will be share the perspectives of proud employees who represent the L, G, B, T, and ally communities. We will also share key trainings and videos to further engage employees including an Ally 101 training and an enterprise-wide broadcast on LGBT History in partnership with PFLAG.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina

The Blue Cross NC LGBTQA Employee Resource Group, Spectrum, will be hosting networking socials and an LGBT History Board display at all 3 of our offices. The coup de grace event however will be the viewing of the film ‘Love Simon’ which will be followed by a discussion facilitated by the Spectrum Executive Sponsor, one of our company’s more senior leaders. The discussion will focus on the universal themes found within the film and focus on the importance of allies. The Spectrum Officer team will then define what ‘ally’ means to them and invite participants to pledge their ally support. The call to action will include becoming a member of the network and agreeing to attend future Spectrum events, helping to raise awareness for other upcoming Spectrum events, and to become more active by becoming committee members in assisting the Officer team in planning and implementing Spectrum programming. The event will act as a soft Ally-training and member engagement program.

We will be submitting a request for an ‘Umbrella license’ to the MPLC to be able to show the film onsite.

BP

• Participate in 5 pride parades with over 300 employees nationwide including: Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; Anchorage, AL; Bellingham, WA (in July); Toledo, OH (in August).
• Facilitate several safe space sessions that teach employees how to foster a safe and welcoming environment for LGBT employees.
• A talk entitled: “Houston Before Stonewall” by professor Brian Riedel of Rice University.
• Holding an information session on the Ohio Fairness Act that is being debated in the legislation.

Brown-Forman

June 5: All Employee Global Membership Meeting Brunch

Breakfast buffet and mimosa toast, or remotely via Livestream, meet the new Pride Leadership team, learn more about our vision and plans for the coming year, and hear more about this year’s Primonth theme, “Why Pride?”

June 14: Celebrate With Pride Lunch

Pride themed lunch in the Bourbon Street Cafe.

June 15: The Kentuckian Pride Parade

June 19: Being An Ally

Breakfast in person or livestream as we host our guest speakers from the HRC to talk about being an ally and creating an LGBTQ-inclusive workplace. Allies will walk away with practical steps to take their allyship to the next level.

June 27: Louisville City FC Game

PRIDE night at Louisville CIty FC!

Dell

This year, we have developed a communications campaign to celebrate the month. The focus of the campaign is to encourage all team members to bring all parts of themselves to work and honor what it means to #BeYourself. This year’s efforts center around “Pride Beyond Borders,” acknowledging intersectionality, celebrating where we come from and what makes us unique.

We have blogs, videos, graphics, emails and events all tied to this theme, including:

Direct2 Dell Blog Posts throughout the month. First one on 6/4.
June 4: “Pride Beyond Borders” by Erik Day

Video
Video on #BeYourself for team members to share

Social Media
Team Member Hashtags #PrideatDell #BeYourself

Pride Employee Resource Group events taking place across 30 chapters in 14 countries around the world.

Fifth Third Bank

Throughout the month of June, Fifth Third Bank will be celebrating PRIDE across its 10-state footprint. The Cincinnati employees will corral over 100 parade walkers/volunteers participating in city-wide PRIDE celebrations. They will be passing out goodies to the crowd. At the PRIDE festival, they will have a festival booth designed to create community visibility and Fifth Third Bank’s support for the LGBTQ community. The Bank will also be very visible at the parade, as it is a sponsor of the event, which gives us branding on downtown banners, stage announcements and overall visibility at the event.

Internally, one of the executive allies will be featured in an enterprise communication on our intranet homepage during the month of June and a wrap up of PRIDE events will be featured in an enterprise communication on our intranet homepage. We also will have a display on the Fifth Third Bank LED board in Downtown Cincinnati, which is seen by several thousands of people every day. And employees from the following locations will be participating in PRIDE events in their cities: Columbus, Indianapolis, Augusta, GA., Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids, MI.

FINRA

Pride Alliance (FPA) Employee Resource Group June Programming

Annual Pride Month Celebration will include the following employee programs:
Join the FINRA Pride Alliance (FPA) for their annual Pride Month Celebration, featuring special guest speakers Michael Solomon, Senior Vice President and Northeast Regional Director, and Robert Marchman, FINRA Fellow, Enforcement. Michael Solomon is also the executive sponsor of the FINRA Pride Alliance employee resource group and Robert Marchman is the executive sponsor of the FINRA Multigenerational Employee Resource Group Exchange (MERGE).

Visit the Pride Alliance’s LGBT Pride Month Wiki Page for interesting video’s and articles celebrating the LGBT community. Additionally, FPA will be posting information about events happening around the country on their internal WiKi Page all month long. Employees and employee resource group members can visit the page to learn about events happening in their neighborhood!

Pride Alliance is encouraging it’s members emulate the “FINRA AIDS Walk NY Team”, and form local teams to participate in Aids Walk fund raising events throughout the country. Member’s should visit the Pride Alliance’s main page for instructions.

“Images of Pride 2018” Photo Competition

The FINRA Pride Alliance will continue its annual photography competition this year. Starting June 20 and until September 14, FINRA employees can submit a photo for the chance to be selected as this year’s winner!

Freddie Mac

PRIDE & HOLA Joint Event: Keynote from former Ambassador “Wally” Brewster 6/13
The Pride ERG is pleased to welcome to Freddie Mac former US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, James “Wally” Brewster.
As the first openly gay Ambassador in the Western Hemisphere, Brewster faced anti-LGBT hate and prejudice. Drawing on his experience in a country where the religious community challenged him, Ambassador Wally Brewster will share the importance of being out and open, creating a culture of inclusion and the impact allies have on social change.
This event is sponsored by Pride in partnership with the HOLA ERG.

TransCEND: 6/21
We’ve entered into a moment where gender identity is at the forefront of our cultural conversation. For LGBT Pride Month, the Pride ERG is hosting a transgender panel discussion to bring that conversation to Freddie Mac.

This panel will help educate on experiences many transgender people and their loved ones face. Topics will include family and parenting, transitioning, workplace experiences, how to be a better ally, etc. Through learning opportunities like this, Freddie Mac is fostering an inclusive and welcoming culture so that all employees can be at their best regardless of their gender identity.

Pride ERG Event: Ally Training – Foundations of Being An Ally: 6/27
Please join PFLAG, the nation’s first and largest organization uniting families and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer to learn more about being an ally. This session is geared to help individuals expose, examining, and work through their own internalized oppression and prejudice(s). Topics include: identifying what being an “ally” means, understanding aspects of the coming out process and analysis the impact of being “out” in the workforce, and learning how to respond effectively to situations an ally may encounter.

Pride ERG Event: Trans Awareness: 6/27
Please join PFLAG, the nation’s first and largest organization uniting families and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer to learn more about being an ally. This session will help individuals enrich their awareness of transgender issues and challenges. Topics include: understanding concepts of gender identity, learning the diversity that exists within the trans community, identifying and examining transphobia, enhancing awareness through statistics relating to the trans community, and enhancing abilities to engage more readily and easily with transgender individuals.

GSK

Pride celebrations at GSK in the UK occur across multiple sites, but are brought together under the umbrella of an internal Pride Festival. The rainbow flag is flown at each of our sites for 1-2 weeks around Pride. We organise talks meant to inspire and educate, sponsor various events to raise awareness and even dance it out in a flash mob at our corporate headquarters which is fast becoming a yearly Pride tradition. GSK is founding member of the Proud Science Alliance, a relatively new partnership between LGBT+ employee networks across science, healthcare research and pharmaceutical organisations, which promotes equality and inclusion of LGBT+ people in our industry. We will host a Proud Science Alliance members LGBT+ leadership event as part of Pride and will proudly march in Pride in London alongside some of our Alliance partners. Of course, there also will be social events to support the celebratory aspect of Pride.

GSK and ViiV Healthcare observe and celebrate LGBT+ Pride Month across multiple sites and countries in the Americas. Externally, ViiV Healthcare will have booths at the DC, Denver, and San Francisco Pride festivals. Internally, Rainbow flags are flown or displayed at many of our sites during the month, including Philadelphia, PA, Rockville, MD, Warren, NJ, and RTP, NC in the US, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and Mississauga and Laval in Canada. Internally, the Spectrum Employee Resource Group organizes talks meant to inspire and educate. In the US, a colleague and member of Spectrum will share her experiences volunteering for a non-profit in Australia and offer insight into inclusion and diversity in that country as it fought for marriage equality. Additionally, external guest speakers, a mother and daughter, will share their family’s journey through transgender discovery, and the National Geographic documentary, Gender Revolution, will be shown (US and UK). To engage all our colleagues and raise awareness, many sites are hosting internal events with food and drink, where some of the ERG’s Executive Sponsors and leaders will speak and host Q&A. Finally, GSK and ViiV Healthcare will utilize its social media platforms to highlight its Positive Action grantees and support inclusion for the LGBT+ community. Follow us on Twitter @ViiVUS and @GSKUS, and check out a LinkedIn LinkedIn post from inclusive leader and ViiV Healthcare North America Head, Eric Dube on the importance of allies in building a culture of inclusion.

Health Care Services Corporation

Health Care Services Corporation, the parent company of five Blue Cross Blue Shield plans including Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, has several activities planned in the celebration of National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. Our Pride Alliance BRG focuses on LGBTQ employees and allies and aims to foster diversity through educational seminars, while creating employee cultural awareness activities. They also host networking, mentoring and community outreach efforts. Below is a list of activities planned in celebration of Pride Month.

Additionally, Health Care Services Corporation will send out a company-wide communication and use in house monitors to recognize June as LGBTQ Pride Month and invite all employees to participate in Health Care Services Corporation Pride activities. These efforts offer support to LGBTQ employees as well as serve as a reminder that Health Care Services Company is a company where all employees can bring their authentic selves to work.

New Mexico:
BRG members are planning a group outing to attend the Annual New Mexico Gay Men’s Choir Pride Concert on June 17.
BRG members will participate in the Annual Albuquerque Pride Parade on June 9.

Illinois:
Libby Reinecke, Licensed Clinical Social Worker from Transitional Care of Arlington Heights, will be onsite to speak about LGTBQ Competency in Healthcare on June 20.
BRG members will participate in the 49th Annual Chicago Pride Parade on June 24.
BRG members will participate in a community service volunteer opportunity at the Center on Halsted on June 14.
The Chicago HCSC headquarters building will be lit with “Chicago Pride”

Texas:
A Pride banner will be displayed in the Richardson, TX headquarters throughout the month of June.
BRG members will participate in a community service volunteer opportunity at the LGBTQ Resource Center of Dallas on June 16.
BRG members will participate in the Annual Dallas Pride Parade and Festival which will be held September 15- 17.

Oklahoma:

BRG members will participate in the Annual Tulsa Pride Parade on June 2.

Leidos

Leidos PRIDE Mission: Building a stronger workforce, workplace, and marketplace for gender and sexual minorities and their allies.

Goal: Increase awareness internally and externally of the overall Leidos brand, communicating who Leidos is and how we embrace diversity and inclusion.

Leidos Pride represents the diversity of LGBTQ voices and allies at Leidos. They assist in the evolution of an LGBTQ-friendly workplace by supporting policies that bring awareness to any unique needs of LGBTQ employees. They strive to create an inclusive, equitable, and supportive workplace by fostering the understanding of LGBTQ issues and workplace needs through professional networks, education, and community outreach.

Highlights:

• Executive sponsor; Angie Heise (Direct report to our Chairman and CEO and President of our Leidos Civil Group).
• Partners in the execution of several PRIDE events including capital pride this month in Washington, D.C.
• Partners in the execution of our Leidos partnership with Out and Equal and HRC.
• Leidos received a 100% on the HRC CEI for 2018 (First time accomplishment).
• Leidos PRIDE launched a new external events landing page access here to support our outreach efforts.

Social Media/Digital Campaign:
Partnered with social media on posts that will be featured on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat to highlight our participation in events (before, after, and during) and our leadership team’s thoughts on diversity & inclusion at Leidos throughout the month.

Physical Events:

• 2018 Leidos Pride Event Participation
• Friday June 8 – DC Front Runners Pride Run 5K – (Chairman and CEO, Roger Krone participating)
• Saturday June 9 – Capital Pride Parade – (Angie Heise Executive Sponsor participating)
• Sunday June 10 – Capital Pride Festival
• Denver PrideFest
• Sunday June 17 – Parade
• Knoxville Pridefest (Oak Ridge Employees)
• Saturday June 23 – Parade

ManpowerGroup

As a prelude to Pride Month, ManpowerGroup’s Elevate Business Resource Group, in partnership with the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, hosted the 4th annual LGBT Business Equality Summit on Thursday, May 17th. As part of this event, attendees had the chance to network with other business professionals from around the state, listen to remarks from state and national leaders about the importance of the LGBT business community, and attended breakout sessions designed to help businesses grow and thrive.

Elevate previously partnered with the WI LGBT Chamber of Commerce to have a shared presence at their Workplace Alliance booth within Pride Fest, and in 2018 we are pleased to share that we have an Elevate branded booth in the wellness area at Pride Fest Milwaukee. We have volunteers joining us from all ManpowerGroup’s BRG’s (Business resource groups) as well as members of our leadership team. We will be talking about ManpowerGroup’s culture, the importance of meaningful employment as part of overall wellness, ManpowerGroup’s quick decision to sign the Wisconsin Businesses for Equality Pledge, in addition to handing out some great swag. We will also be distributing Pride Fest ticket giveaways this week. We are especially excited about our executive response this year our member base has been energized by their support.

Sodexo

Sodexo in partnership with its PRIDE (People Respecting Individuality, Diversity and Equality) EBRG (Employee Business Resource Group) has planned several activities.

Sodexo kicked off LGBT Pride Month on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) with a global webinar focused on raising awareness of and sparking interest in LGBT global rights among all employees. Over 800 employees joined the IDAHOT webinar which included employee viewing parties around the world.

On the threshold (eve) of LGBT Pride Month, Sodexo launched a Global LGBT Resource Guide which provides a virtual space for employees from around the world to access a wide range of information related to Sodexo’s efforts to build a more inclusive culture.

PRIDE and PANG (Pan-Asian Network Group) EBRGs will co-host a meeting at the International Monetary Fund, featuring keynote speaker Ben DeGuzman, Community Outreach Relations Specialist for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. Mr. DeGuzman previously served as the National Managing Coordinator for the Diverse Elders Coalition, and as a member of the principal staff at the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance. Meeting participants will also hear from Sodexo and EBRG leaders.

Sodexo PRIDE, proud sponsor of Capital Pride, will be marching in the Capital Pride Parade on June 9. Sodexo employees, families, and friends are invited and encouraged to take part in the parade.

All promotional material and activities including external partner LGBT webinars will be announced and promoted at various Sodexo sites, internal websites, newsletters and social media.

State Street

With almost a dozen active Pride employee network chapters around the world, State Street is incredibly excited to celebrate Pride Month. This year, we hosted a panel called “Coming Out at Work”, where we discussed the challenges of coming out in the workplace, and the important role of workplace allies. There will be Pride-themed lift posters in our office elevators around the globe, and Pride flags outside of our Boston-based buildings through the month of June. 2018 marks the 6th year in a row that State Street has participated in the Boston Pride Parade, and many of our global chapters are participating in their local parades as well. For the first time, State Street has a cohesive global Pride campaign, including an updated brand identity for the month’s celebrations. Our 2018 Pride theme is “Speak Your Truth”, which we have leveraged in creating a Pride Month-focused article, posts on social media, and an internal quote campaign among State Street employees.

Unum

Unum is sponsoring PRIDE in 3 locations (Chattanooga, Portland ME and Columbia, SC) by making a financial donation
Unum employees are walking in the PRIDE parades in the same 3 locations
Celebrating PRIDE during the week of June 11-15 in all 5 major Unum locations in the US (Columbia, Portland ME, Chattanooga, Worcester MA and Glendale CA)

• Pride week will include handing out rainbow bracelets to employees
• Taking a rainbow colored photo in all 5 locations where employees wear their favorite rainbow color
• Live streaming cross campus LGBTQ employee panel to answer common questions and hear real stories/personalizing LGBTQ

Verisk

The Verisk Pride Employee Network launched globally April 2017. The group has come together for educational programming, local events and community service. Most recently to kick off Pride Month our teams have participated in a fundraising bake sale, the NYC AIDS WALK and in honor of Pride Month attended the Pride Parade in Asbury Park NJ. A global microsite has been created for all ERG’s and chapters to connect throughtout the year; exchanging updates on news and events locally and globally. The Pride members have been working together in different offices not only to share information but also drive participation and member recruitment. The Pride ERG has grown into an active group of members and allies. Here are a few stories to share their personal and professional experiences further contributing to their sense of belonging each and every day at Verisk.

Roberto Arriagada

Living in the NYC area, the job market is very competitive. I’ve been considering the merits of our competition and the ERG helped Verisk stand out considerably. Beyond the scope of my professional responsibilities, the ERG has offered a very real element of belonging that makes Verisk a serious contender against other opportunities.

Celest Perry

I am a transgender woman and the Verisk Pride group has greatly helped me with my transition in a professional work environment. If it wasn’t for the love and support from the other members, I don’t think I could have accomplished my goal of living as my authentic self. They really bring a sense that diversity is welcome anywhere within Verisk, and helps to make everyone feel welcomed.

Ilora Bhattacharya

As an out lesbian who relocated to the South, at previous companies I would find myself struggling with gauging if fellow team members and colleagues are open to someone who is “different” (as some people are severely openly against it here). Not once at my few months at Verisk have I had to question my place or the acceptance of my being. The existence and backing of this ERG, along with the knowledge of the organization being supportive to the LGBTQIA community, has helped this Canadian find a sense of belonging and comfort ? It’s so relieving!

Joe Ameen

Feeling like your identity isn’t just tolerated, but celebrated, in your workplace is a powerful thing. It allows you to be your true self, and when you are your true self, you can live to your true potential. That our company has stood behind us in launching our ERG and supported us as we plan events is truly inspiring. We’ve been able to use our group as a platform for education and the continued growth of our diverse and inclusive workplace. We’ve participated in the AIDS Walk and will soon be marching in our first Pride Parade. We will be meeting to discuss the importance of pride and the history of the LGBT civil rights movement with our colleagues in the beginning of a series of sessions that I’m certain will only serve to bring us all closer together, not just as coworkers, but as a community.

Verizon

June 19 – Pride event in Basking Ridge for employees with senior leaders, internal and external panel discussions

Company Partnerships with many national and local organizations serving the LGBTQ community

Out & Equal –supporting ERG development and workplace equality
Point Foundation –education and LGBTQ college and graduate students
National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) –business development and supplier diversity
Out for Work –college students and recruitment
SMYAL –LGBTQ youth services
Our Families –Supporting LGBTQ families

Viacom

The tent pole event our LGBTQA Employee Resource Group, EMERGE, will be hosting for Pride month:

Wednesday, June 20th: Star of TV Land’s Younger, Nico Tortorella, will sit down with Viacom employees to discuss their new book “All of It Is You: Poetry”. Beyond their on-screen endeavors, Tortorella has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community with their podcast The Love Bomb which discusses love in all its forms.

Additional events include:

MON 6/4: LGBTQ Families Day (partnership with The ParentHood) – online engagement
LGBTQ employees, parents of LGBTQ children, and allies submitted photos of their families for LGBTQ Families Day and we put them together in a collage that was posted on our Workplace page

TUE 6/19: PFLAG @ Nick
Straight for Equality learning session to provide advanced ally training to employees, with discussions framed around “What would you do?” scenarios

TUE 6/26: Music on the Terrace feat. Michael Blume @ Viacom
Presented in partnership with Viacom Creative Music Integration and Core Services, featuring Michael Blume, who is openly gay and an advocate for equality

THU 6/28: Music on the Terrace feat. Kim Petras @ Viacom
A second installment of Music on the Terrace featuring Kim Petras, a trans singer-songwriter

Wells Fargo

As a company, Wells Fargo is participating in over 60 Pride events around the U.S., with the iconic Wells Fargo stagecoach scheduled to ride with our LGBTQ team members in 22 Pride parades.
We have created a community support campaign to run during Pride Month that highlights the impact of four national LGBTQ organizations which we support: Trevor Project, Point Foundation, GLSEN, and SAGE. In addition to social media posts, we will be running ads both online and in our branches and ATM network to promote the great work of these organizations, directing viewers to www.wellsfargo.com/standingtogether for more information.
Internally, we have several stories slated to run in our team member intranet, Teamworks, highlighting local organizations we support in the LGBTQ community as well as LGBTQ team members.

Zurich North America

Zurich North America is celebrating Pride Month during the month of June to honor the achievements and contributions of the LGBTQ community and its allies. Valuing the diversity and potential of every individual is embedded in Zurich’s Values and plays a significant role in how the company is able to deliver on its strategy.

Having employees with diverse perspectives united with a single purpose helps Zurich support the needs of its customers and distributors. Zurich’s employee resource group PrideZ has planned a variety of programs that will help educate, inspire and develop all employees. These include:

PrideZ Color Campaign – The Color Campaign includes four days selected throughout June to show support for the LGBT community and PrideZ’s initiatives. On these days, employees are encouraged to wear a designated color corresponding to the LGBT rainbow flag and have the option to submit a “selfie” or personal photo to the ERG Leadership team. Photos will be blended together to form a rainbow collage and may be used on Zurich’s social media accounts.
Below is the color schedule for the month:

June 6st: Red/Orange
June 13th: Green/Yellow
June 20th: Blue
June 27th: Purple

Charity Give Back Week – During the week of June 11th, employees across Zurich North America are invited to give back to their local communities, helping support the not-for-profit organizations that serve the LGBTQ community.

Trans-Inclusion Panel – PrideZ will be hosting an educational panel on engaging transgender talent comprised of speakers from the Chicago suburb charity, Youth Outlook, and Zurich colleagues. Panelists will discuss their personal experiences and perceptions of transgender inclusion in the workplace.

PrideZ Member Celebration – In conclusion of Pride Month, employees are invited to spend some time together for networking and to share in the successes of Pride month. The meeting is open to anyone interested in joining PrideZ as well as current PrideZ members.