🌈 Pride Is for Everyone (Even If You’re Not Queer)
By someone who used to lower his voice in the hallway.
By someone who no longer fears that his queerness is a liability at work.
Every June, the world starts to shimmer with rainbows. Logos change. Emails go out. Cupcakes arrive.
But what does Pride really mean in the workplace? What happens when it moves beyond marketing, and becomes part of the air we breathe between meetings and shared lunches?
I’ve been out for years, but there’s a difference between being out and being safe. For a long time, even when I shared who I was, I couldn’t shake the feeling that people were looking for a reason to put me in a box. A little too sensitive. A little too loud. A little too “much.” Microaggressions never scream, they whisper. They smile. They sound like jokes. They echo in the silence that follows.
And yet, things are shifting.
Working at a place like Broadwing Recruitment, diverse, curious, and genuinely inclusive, reminded me that not all workplaces are shaped by fear. Some are shaped by possibility. Here, I no longer feel I have to filter myself to be respected. I can share my ideas, my energy, and my truth without apology. I’ve learned that Pride in the workplace doesn’t just protect people like me, it transforms the environment for everyone.
Because Pride isn’t just for the LGBTQ+ community.
Pride, when practised with honesty and depth, allows all employees to reflect on identity, expression, and the right to simply be. I’ve watched straight colleagues begin to understand gender differently. I’ve seen cis coworkers ask questions they never felt they were allowed to ask. I’ve seen empathy deepen. Walls soften. Rigid ideas loosen their grip.
And in all of that, I’ve felt hopeful.
Of course, the world outside our office can still feel terrifying. The attacks on trans rights. The rise in hate speech. The way authenticity still gets politicized. Sometimes it feels like we’re moving backwards.
But in the face of all that, Pride remains a reminder that we are still here. Still working. Still laughing over coffee. Still raising eyebrows at deadlines. Still learning how to respect each other more, not less.
What I love about Pride in the workplace is that it asks us to think about privilege gently but honestly. Who gets to feel normal? Who gets to be loud without fear? Who never had to explain their pronouns? Their clothes? Their voice? Who has always been able to show up without editing themselves for approval?
These aren’t easy questions. But they are human questions. And workplaces that ask them become stronger, not just for queer folks, but for women, migrants, neurodivergent individuals, older workers, and anyone else who’s ever felt like they were “too much” or “not enough” for the system they’re in.
Pride isn’t a costume. It’s a culture. It’s not the cupcakes or the logo (though I’m never mad at a good rainbow biscuit). It’s the quiet confidence of a young employee daring to share their story. It’s a team standing up for someone who doesn’t feel safe. It’s a leader saying, “I don’t know enough yet, but I want to learn.”
And more than anything, it’s the space between us, made a little softer, a little wider, for all the colours we carry.
Pride is for everyone. Even if you’re not queer. Especially if you’re willing to reflect. Especially if you’re still learning.
And me? I’m still learning, too. But now, I’m learning out loud.
🌈 If this resonates, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s keep the conversation open.
Let’s keep the door wide.
