The Power of Pride

Flying the rainbow flag with the power of Pride for the first time!

TrustYou's LGBTQ+ community celebrates the power of Pride within the company. Our initiative is to spread the message of love and acceptance throughout our workplace and say thank you to all of our amazing allies working in our offices around the world.

Millions fear coming out at work - and many with good reason. There are often tangible consequences for being openly LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, plus) that depend drastically on where someone lives. Few countries have legal protections that cover gender identity and sexual orientation, and many people would lose their jobs if they are honest about their personal identity. Even countries where same-sex marriage is legal, one can still lose their job for being out.

There is a bright side, where some countries lack official protections, companies are stepping up and working toward inclusivity within the ranks. Studies around this topic show that coming out can increase satisfaction on the job, strengthen employee loyalty, and foster emotional support between co-workers. This year, in particular, we’ve all seen a countless amount of companies showing their support by adding the rainbow flag to their logo, a small - but powerful - message that celebrates diversity and shows that there are places where one can be their authentic self, even at work. 

Some may label these initiatives as rainbow washing, or the usage of the Pride flag as a hollow gesture, but that is a topic for another discussion. That is actually only the argument that has kept us from joining other corporate allies sooner. What changed this year is the encouragement and momentum from fellow coworkers. Thanks to our teamwork - one of TrustYou’s core values - we made this happen just in time for Pride season to begin in both our San Diego and Munich headquarters.

This post and our Pride initiative are dedicated to all of our invisible and visible colleagues that encouraged us to have the types of open conversations with each other that lead to this blog post. When we pitched the idea to raise the rainbow flag, we only received words of love and support. This will also hopefully be a springboard for deeper conversations and make it easier for future coworkers to be confident with the power of Pride when they come out at work.

This change will spark further internal change as we can all strive to make our world a better place. As our community in the office grows, we will be able to take concrete steps together. I know which charities I will propose for our annual auction!