Today (Thursday, 1st June) sees the start of Pride Month 2023.
Pride Month is a time of celebration, visibility, and empowerment for the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s an occasion to honour the progress made in the fight for equality and acknowledge the ongoing challenges. As the world comes together to celebrate diversity and inclusion, Baywater Healthcare proudly stands at the forefront of fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.
We have provided all employees with rainbow lanyards to celebrate and raise awareness throughout this month. Wearing the lanyard is a show of support for the LGBTQIA+ community and demonstrates that we recognise the importance of pride month.
We have also changed our profile pictures on Social Media to represent our Logo showing the pride colours to make visible our support to the LGBTQIA+ community in our team at Baywater Healthcare, our patients, colleagues and in broader society.
Throughout the month, we will also be sharing facts and educational posts about Pride Month with our team to enable us to educate ourselves and promote awareness of the importance of pride month.
For example, did you know that the rainbow pride flag has six colours, each with a specific, powerful meaning? Red is symbolic of life; orange is symbolic of healing; yellow is sunshine; green is nature; blue represents harmony, and purple is spirit.
Pride is celebrated in many ways around the world. The biggest-ever pride event was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2006, around 2.5 million participants attended their pride celebration. In the United Kingdom, Brighton is viewed as the unofficial pride capital of the United Kingdom, while Amsterdam is home to the only pride event in the world that floats on a river.
The first same-sex couple to get married was Michael McConnell and Jack Baker in 1971 in the United States. After an intense court case, their marriage was approved. Despite this, same-sex marriage remained illegal. In 1981, Denmark became the first country to recognise a same-sex couple’s relationship, and in 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage. Despite this, same-sex marriage is still illegal in many countries.
This year will mark the 54th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. These riots are the roots of Pride Month. In 1969, The NYPD descended on the Stonewall Inn in New York’s West Village. On 28th June, the LGBTQIA+ community launched a battle against the systematic abuse they had received from the police. Over the following six days, a series of riots and protests spread across the area. Whilst the riots didn’t immediately change anything, they galvanised the LGBTQIA+ community and inspired them to seek real equality.
A year later, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, thousands marched from the inn to Central Park for Christopher St Liberation Day. This marked the first pride parade and was the beginning of June, becoming Pride Month annually.
We firmly believe that diversity enriches our work environment and helps us better understand the world around us. We are proud to celebrate Pride Month at Baywater Healthcare and have a strong commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion.
