5 ways to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month

LGBTQ+ History Month is an important occasion to commemorate and celebrate each year. If you're struggling with ideas as to how to show your support for the LGBTQ+ community, have no fear! Here are five great ways to celebrate LGBTQ+ history and display authentic allyship to the community.

Know Your History

To celebrate the history of the community, first you must show an understanding of it. Showing true allyship to LGBTQ+ people means knowing their history, the journey it has taken to get to this point of acceptance, and the steps that still need to be taken.

Using the internet, watching documentaries and attending panels/seminars on LGBTQ+ History Month are great ways to brush up on your knowledge of the community. Particular events to pay close attention to are the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the 1980s AIDS epidemic, the lasting impact of Margaret Thatcher’s Section 28 and the evolution of Pride parades over the past 50 years.

By indicating an interest and basic understanding of these topics and looking into more historic events concerning the LGBTQ+ community, you can show authentic allyship and be provided with context for subjects brought up by friends and co-workers.

Attend the myGwork LGBTQ+ History Panel

If you’re wondering where you can hear authentic queer experiences and gain a better understanding of LGBTQ+ History, look no further than the myGwork panel on February 18th!

Join us as we hear from a range of LGBTQ+ panelists over the course of the hour, telling us about sections of LGBTQ+ history that they are passionate about. Sponsored by Novartis, the event details the panelists’ LGBTQ+ heroes and their personal experiences of identifying as queer in the current work landscape.

Attend and take the opportunity to ask questions and learn new things about the community!

Click here for more information on the LGBTQ+ History Panel.

Support a Queer-Owned Business or Charity

If you have the means to, financially supporting or volunteering to assist an LGBTQ+ business or charity is an excellent way to display allyship and celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. Plenty of LGBTQ+ charities are available to donate to, with many focusing on improving conditions for members of the queer community who are homeless, sick, recovering from trauma or suffering from mental illnesses.

Stonewall, MindOut, Terrence Higgins Trust and London Friend are just a few examples of charities you can reach out to, or you can research specific LGBTQ+ charities focused on areas you feel passionate about. Whether it's to make a donation or to volunteer at parades/events, any display of support for the LGBTQ+ community is welcome during LGBTQ+ History Month!

Join the myGwork Academy

MyGwork has an e-learning platform, providing practical and relevant diversity and inclusion training and education. A perfect opportunity for those who want to educate themselves on LGBTQ+ matters this February, the myGwork Academy promises to create inclusive environments for all.

The first course focuses on LGBTQ+ Allyship in the Workplace, with particular detail on the context and history of the community – ideal for LGBTQ+ History Month! Follow our CO-EXIST framework to help build an understanding of what it means to be LGBTQ+, the importance of allyship in the workplace and how this can be reflected in our day-to-day actions.

Check out the myGwork Academy and all it has to offer here.

Invite LGBTQ+ Employees to Speak

One of the most important parts of being an ally is providing a platform to members of the LGBTQ+ community. By giving queer people an opportunity to speak in meetings, on panels, and at events, it allows for authentic experiences to be relayed and the opportunity for progressive change to occur.

Whether it’s opening discussions about adjusting language inclusivity, or advice on how to be more respectful, or even bringing up ways in which people are feeling discriminated, it is extremely important for members of the community to be provided with a platform in the first place to talk from. Sometimes just listening and learning from peers is enough and can often help inspire the most beneficial and progressive changes in a business, relationship or friendship.