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For the last two years,?Pride Month?celebrations around the world felt, much like many other areas of our lives, somewhat muted. Many of the vibrant parades and street parties which showcase and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community were put on hold, with many of us uniting online instead.

Here¡¯s how we shared the spirit of Pride Month across our Company and communities this past June.

How we marched and more

As we continue to get into the swing of our routines in offices around the world, we were able to get together for Pride celebrations:

• We launched our new Pride@Â鶹´«Ã½ Ontario chapter, which brings together people from 13 offices across the province.
• Employees across the United Kingdom created a buddy system, so nobody would feel alone if they wanted to attend a local parade.
• A Pride Day in our Manchester, England office included a pop-up lunchtime nail salon with rainbow nail polish.
• HR business partner and Global Pride Committee member Tim Basten (Arnhem, The Netherlands) joined representatives from other leading organizations to discuss LGBTQ+ inclusion at the??in Amsterdam.

During Â鶹´«Ã½ in the Community Week this June, we also supported a range of community organizations with LGBTQ+ connections. These included:

• and the , Alberta, where we made diversity buttons, encouragement cards, and other resources to support programs in schools and other community organizations.
• in British Columbia and in New York, where we helped prepare meals for members of the LGBTQ+ community in need.
• Volunteers went to to help participate in making float decorations for the Disability Pride Parade that took place on July 23.

¡°It was thrilling to see the big smiles and feel the buzz of energy in everyone¡¯s voices this year,¡± says Ricardo Carlos Perez, Director, Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in our Austin, Texas office. ¡°Being together, having fun, celebrating who we are, and helping others¡ªthis is what inclusion and diversity is all about.¡±

We participated in Pride parades across July¡ªfor example, one in Bristol, United Kingdom, as well as one that will be held at the end of the month in Vancouver, British Columbia. And as excited as we are to be together in-person once again, we have also learned that online events play an important role in our organization: they bring us together in the broadest way across our geographies. As a result, we also continued to host Microsoft Teams sessions and webinars during Pride Month.

These included:

• Our?Embracing Intersectionality webinar was created to coincide with Pride Month, Juneteenth in the United States, National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, and International Women in Engineering Day worldwide.
• A United Kingdom & Ireland Pride@Â鶹´«Ã½?session with special guest Ayla Holdom, the first openly transgender pilot in the British Armed Forces
• A?bilingual French/English presentation on inclusive design?prepared by our Fiert¨¦@Â鶹´«Ã½ team in Montreal, Quebec

Carrying the Pride spirit forward all year long?

Pride Month may only last a few weeks, but we have opportunities to show our pride all year long. Our employees can:

• Use?gender-inclusive language
• Add?personal pronouns?to our?email signatures
• Participate in?Pride@Â鶹´«Ã½, both in our offices and on Yammer
• Use?Pride@Â鶹´«Ã½ backgrounds?on our Teams calls
• Wear and display Pride@Â鶹´«Ã½ pixel hearts?

All our efforts make a difference. They help us to understand each other¡¯s experiences and help make them better. They also bring us closer to making Â鶹´«Ã½ a truly inclusive organization¡ªone where we can all confidently bring our authentic selves to work each day. We¡¯re continuously measuring our actions toward this goal through participation in external surveys such as the Global Benchmark sponsored by?Workplace Pride?and our recent signing of?The Declaration of Amsterdam.