3 reasons why we think it’s important to celebrate Pride in the workplace.

Why is it important to celebrate Pride at work?

Pride is a big party with the highlight in our area being the Amsterdam Pride: for years a party where all freedom is celebrated. That is also the image that often comes up: the Canal Parade with people dancing on boats through the canals and many rainbow colors. But the background of Pride is in the abbreviation: ‘Promote Respect. Inclusion, and Dignity for Everyone’.

Pride is a celebration every June, set against the backdrop of a 1969 protest in the United States where protesters faced the police. The fact that when we think of ‘pride’ we already think of the Amsterdam Canal Parade and that it is a widely celebrated party shows how far Pride has come. And that this may also be visible in the workplace is also part of that.

At NewArmstrong, that’s not just something for that one month. And not at the time of the Amsterdam Pride or ‘Coming Out Day’. It is in the everyday business: what do we accept from each other and what not. And it’s broader at newArsmtrong: we strive for a 50-50 split between men and women at work. Without ‘ Gender Pay gap ‘. We celebrate Easter together, but also Passover, Sugar Fest and Christmas. And pride. It is important that someone who works for us or comes to work here feels comfortable and safe.

What can we do then?

Ensuring knowledge about LBGTQ+.

If you have knowledge of something and understand why something is the way it is, if you understand the social context, then there is easier understanding. If you understand younger generations, there is easy understanding. If you understand the context and struggle behind this, you will understand why it is important to some people. So topics like these are open for discussion within our company. If our HR contact person asks for a contact person to call in the event of an emergency, we ask for a contact person from family or your partner. Not necessarily your ‘husband’ or ‘wife’.

And that means for our management that we have consciously studied the generations that grew up after us and the groups that are not in our own circle. When we lead, we need to know what matters. Otherwise we cannot put ourselves in the position of the other. And if we can’t put ourselves in it, we can’t act right. And if we do not act correctly, we will not offer that workplace where an employee can work well. And an employee who works well is the best for the team and the result. So our board and management know what is going on in the world and in other generations..

It is visible on social media.

On social media, we make it clear that we welcome all points of view and communities. So both in religion (our Christian employees, our Islamic colleagues) and in orientation or sexuality. We do n’t ask about it: it is ‘none of our business’. But it can be there, you can be there and we communicate that openly. Feel welcome, because that’s us. New Armstrong . (Want to work with us? look here )

We create a safe workplace.

We will adjust our profile picture on Linked-in in June. And we write this blog on our website. This shows that we stand for something. But it goes further: our values within the company, our rules of conduct, our way of leadership are focused on equality. That means that we act against certain jokes and do not tolerate discrimination. Not even with ‘but it’s harmless’ or ‘it’s a joke’ after it. If we would allow it, we would agree: so let’s leave the 80s jokes in the 80s: because we’re living in the twenties now.

We do our best to understand the different generations and minorities within the company. And sure: there will be a ‘slip of the pen’ or a ‘slip of the tongue’. But these are our values and this is what we support. We are there for everyone who wants to work with us, we will do everything we can to provide them with a pleasant working environment and an open and good working culture.