BY: CELINE DUENAS
To continue our mission to amplify the voices of youth entrepreneurs, League of Innovators celebrates Pride by standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
What is Pride?
Pride month commemorates the LGBTQ+ activism and culture since the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan of June, 1969. Since then, Pride began as a celebration with joyful marches and events to shift public attitudes and support the community who fought for their freedom and rights. This month is all about celebrating people, culture, and the impact that its members have had on local, national and international history. Pride month is rooted from the history of minority groups that have struggled through time to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are.
Significance of the Rainbow Flag
Gilbert Baker, an artist and designer, was recruited by one of the first openly gay officials in the US to make a flag for upcoming Pride celebrations in San Francisco. Inspiration came from the rainbow to highlight the many groups within the gay community. Now, many people have been inspired to have their own unique rainbow flag to represent their different groups, genders, and identities.
Celebrating Pride at LOI
Changing our logo is one of the many ways to support and stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. During the month of pride, thousands of companies change their logo to represent their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.Logos and how they are used can hold a lot of weight. Our logo represents our brand, our values, beliefs and the important work we are committed to. It is our responsibility to express our solidarity with the various vibrant communities that make up LOI. This is why we decided to have our logo representative of the progress pride flag to support the marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of colour, trans individuals, people who are living with AIDS/HIV, and those who have been lost.
To empower youth and youth-led businesses, DEI training is provided in order to do better work internally for our team and externally for our diverse community across Canada. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs provide training that encourages meaningful change in spite of the history of injustice that has marginalized underrepresented communities within the workplace.
DEI training educates our team on anti-oppression, unconscious bias, inclusive language and more. We are committed to continuously learning, taking action and integrating DEI training for our staff, as well as the programs we offer for youth and the startup community. Through training, time, and action, we are able to cultivate a healthy & fair work environment not only for our team, but our community, partners, and ventures we support.
Why is it important to celebrate Pride in your workplace?
As an organization that serves a community of young entrepreneurs, it is important to empower individuals to be their most authentic selves in order to sharpen their entrepreneurial skills and take charge of the power they hold as innovators in our evolving economy. By celebrating Pride in the workplace, we can continue our goal to amplify the impact of young and diverse individuals through building opportunities, skills, and connections that will allow them to chase their dreams as entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers.
Pride within Our Entrepreneurial Community
As the number of ventures we support grows, so does our community of diverse entrepreneurs including LGBTQ+ industry and community leaders. Below are some leading LGBTQ+ businesses that put diversity and inclusion at the heart of their operations.
Loud Business provides opportunities for professionals and entrepreneurs within the LGBTQ2+ community in British Columbia to network, learn, and grow.
Trans PULSE Canada is a community-based survey of the health and well-being of trans and non-binary peoplein Canada.
Through dialogue, education and thought leadership, Pride at Work Canada empowers employers to build workplaces that celebrate all employees regardless of gender expression, gender identity and secual orientation.
QueerTech strives to queer the tech ecosystem by breaking barriers, creating spaces, and connecting communities to support and empower LGBTQ2S+ people to thrive. They help LGBTQ people to get into tech by offering opportunities for jobs and launching companies.
Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH)
The Women Entrepreneurship knowledge Hub (WEKH) shares research and resources on women entrepreneurship in Canada. You can find a resource for LGBTQ2S+ Entrepreneurs to support here.
Building a truly inclusive and welcoming space has to be intentional and is an ongoing process. As some mothers would say “A mountain cannot move in one day.” With this in mind, we can continue to learn, grow and educate ourselves to provide equal justice and opportunity for marginalized LGBTQ+ communities. Check out our video of what Pride means to our company.
