‘Tis the season for rainbow-washing

June marks the longest day of the year, the summer equinox – and the UK’s   renowned Pride Celebrations. But should businesses stop and think before festooning their output and buildings with rainbows and flags as symbols of allyship? Surely, simply taking part is enough – or is it?  

Performative marketing to celebrate an occasion simply because it is marked in a calendar of notable dates, rather than taking an authentic approach to what an event is truly about, and why it matters year-round, will be noted – and not in a positive way – by the very people who you are trying to support. It will also detract from their psychological safety, instead of bolstering it. 

FAIRER Consulting’s Peter Hall says: “Pride month often prompts organisations to incorporate rainbow colours into their logos and marketing materials as a symbolic show of support for the LGBTQ+ community. However, authentic support for Pride requires more than surface-level gestures.” 

“Organisations must actively advocate for LGBTQ+ individuals and aim to foster psychologically safe workplace cultures to drive meaningful change. This commitment should extend beyond a single month, creating a culture of conscious inclusivity and belonging throughout the year.”

Indeed, London LGBTQ+ Community Pride CIC and Pride in London  has this year stated that only corporates showing an ongoing commitment to LGBTQ+ allyship will be allowed to take part in the London-based parade on June 29. Only those organisations that are members of Pride in the City will be allowed to join the parade – this community consists of businesses dedicated to championing LGBTQ+ inclusion, equality, and human rights whatever the day of the year. 

The Pride in the City programme includes inclusion training on topics such as transgender and non-binary inclusion in the workplace. Those taking part will also be able to connect with networks and groups that are collaborating to empower and professionally advance LGBTQ+ employees, and employee resource groups. To keep the parade accessible, Pride in London offers a subsidised joining fee for small and medium-sized businesses with a turnover of less than £1 million.

This move follows community feedback criticising corporate ‘rainbow washing’ or ‘pink washing’, whereby organisations put on a public display of some sort, at a superficial level, without doing anything authentic to support the LGBTQ+ community the rest of the time. 

Speaking in Forbes, Ed Watson, communication specialists and founder of WeArePrew, says: “As a gay man that came out in the ‘90s, to be honest, I have to say that I’m in two minds about this show of support. On one hand it’s amazing that so many organizations are literally showing their pride in pride and it’s great that there is so much visibility. 

“However, I rather cynically question whether many are tokenistically searching for the ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’.  We really must scratch the surface to consider how this support is reflected on a day-to-day basis in the organization and all aspects of its corporate culture and operations.”

Remain constructive

Geffrye Parsons, CEO, The Inclusion Imperative, says: “When such messaging does not align with reality, or collapses when challenged, the result is to foster disillusionment among current and potential staff, and ultimately is also likely to erode rather than build customer goodwill,” he warns. 

Parsons goes on to highlight the danger of some commentators alienating organisations by accusing organisations who wish to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion internally of pinkwashing, “typically for no reason other than that those organisations operate in industries which the observers find inherently objectionable. This behaviour risks throwing out the baby with the bathwater and should be challenged constructively wherever possible.”

Organisations should actively engage with stakeholders, advisors and peer groups to ensure that their events and communications do not descend into the performative, advises Parsons.
 
Parsons  surmises: “Internal stakeholders, such as ERGs (Employee Resource Groups), should be consulted and empowered, peer groups should be mined for empirical best practices and advisors should be used to provide strategic – and sometimes tactical – guidance to bring this all together into a suite of consistent, concerted practices that go beyond one-off events and communication campaigns to provide real, sustained support, advocacy and empowerment for people with points of difference, such as those who are LGBTQ+.”

What can your organisation do now to support those who belong to LGBTQ+ communities? Here are three things to consider:

1. Offer diversity and inclusion training – this raises awareness of issues such as unconscious bias and promotes respect and openness, as well as boosting psychological safety for those who may feel marginalised. Investing in diversity and inclusion training demonstrates - to employees, stakeholders and the wider world - a commitment to supporting the community in question. It’s vital to walk the walk.
2. Understand the history of Pride and the reason it is celebrated in June. Employers need to be vocal and not rely on their staff from various communities to educate their colleagues. That said, do listen to your employee resource groups (ERGs) and employees when they express their opinions on Pride but remember that ERGs work best when there is clear support from senior leaders within the organisation.
3. Support charities that align with the cause’s goals – charitable donations show the organisation’s commitment to inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community in wider society and are tax deductible.

If you would like advice on how to ensure your organisation can get the balance right between supporting a cause, such as Pride, and advocating for employees year-round, please contact FAIRER Consulting.