Every year during the month of June, LGBTQ+ communities and their allies come together to celebrate Pride Month. The streets fill up with parades, performances, and rainbow flags to celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and achievements while raising awareness for equal rights across all sections of the community.
However, the Pride in London parade, as well as many other LGBTQ+ events across the world have been postponed or cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped organisers from hosting virtual Pride events, and it shouldn’t stop your company from celebrating diversity, inclusivity, and Pride either - in June and beyond.
We’ve got a range of Pride-themed Pantry Packages food and drinks boxes that you can send to your teams working from home to celebrate Pride this June. And while we hope you and your teams at home enjoy these packages, it's important to remember that Pride in the workplace goes beyond colourful treats.
According to Stonewall’s 2018 LGBT in the Workplace report, more than a third of LGBT staff in the UK have hidden that they are LGBT at work for fear of discrimination, while one in ten Black, Asian, and minority ethnic LGBT employees had been physically attacked by customers or colleagues in the year preceding the report.
Back in February, we spoke with some of our Just Eat for Business team members to discuss why inclusive workplaces are so important. Our Interim Director of Operations, Mike, said:
"A culture of inclusivity that recognises the value and importance of diversity is essential. Not only for basic respect and rights but to recognise that diversity of thought and avoidance of group-think enables much more creativity, ingenuity, and challenger-thinking. In order to achieve this, companies must avoid pink-washing, recognise institutional oppression, and ensure that inclusivity, openness, and honesty are truly at the core of its values."
If you’re looking for ways to foster inclusivity in your workplace, Glassdoor has published an article on 10 ways you can support LGBT employees, such as establishing strong anti-discrimination policies, developing LGBTQ+ support programmes, and encouraging gender-neutral work environments and language.
Another way of supporting LGBTQ+ communities is by donating to charities that support them. Here are some of the British LGBT Awards charity nominees for 2020 that you can donate to as a company:
- akt (the Albert Kennedy Trust): supporting LGBTQ+ young people access safe housing. £2 from every EK Bakery Pride box will be donated to akt.
- MindOut: a mental health charity run by staff, volunteers, and trustees who are all LGBTQ+ and have lived experience of mental health.
- The Outside Project: working in association with Stonewall Housing, The Outside Project is the first night shelter specifically for the LGBT+ community.
- Sparkle: a national transgender charity that aims to promote awareness and acceptance of the transgender community.
It’s important that companies continually assess and improve their own culture of inclusivity and diversity.
Here's our range of Pride-themed Pantry Packages food and drinks boxes for your teams to enjoy at home:
EK Bakery specialises in seasonal cakes and bespoke brownies, and for the month of June the bakery is offering a range of Pride-themed brownies and cakes decorated with rainbow ribbons, fruits, and flowers.
What’s more, EK Bakery is donating £2 from every order to akt, a charity that supports LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-25 in the UK who are facing or experiencing homelessness or living in a hostile environment.
The donation from each delicious EK Bakery Pride box will help LGBTQ+ people find safe homes and provide support with things like education and training.
Looking for a Pride treat that doubles up as a fun virtual team-building experience? Look no further than Jimmy Garcia Catering’s Pride box!
Start off your virtual Pride party with colour-changing lemonade that transforms from white to blue to purple, and then finally to pink. Then get creative and build your own breakfast buddha bowl filled with vibrant ingredients. And no party is complete without cake, so have a go at decorating your own Pride rainbow cake! Ready baked layers of blue, green, red, and yellow sponge, plus all the tools and toppings you need to make it extra special!
With delivery available across the UK, none of your colleagues need to miss out on this vibrant box full of colour.
As the name suggests, these cupcakes are as kute as a button! Decorated with rainbow ribbons and sprinkles, your remote teams can celebrate Pride in style.
Want something a little more interactive? Your wish is our command! You can now send your teams@home a decorate-your-own-cupcake kit complete with cupcake sponges, ready-made frosting, and heaps of colourful sprinkles and toppings.
Exotic fruit platter, anyone? That’s just one of the items that you’ll find inside Country City Catering’s Pride sweet box.
You’ll also get two large rainbow cupcakes as well as bottles of colourful juices including:
- Yellow: pineapple, mango, and orange juice
- Green: spinach, banana, kale, and avocado juice
- Purple: blackberry, blueberry, and apple juice
Nationwide home delivery is available!
If you’d like to purchase any of these Pride-themed Pantry Packages for your work-from-home teams or have any questions please get in touch with us here or by emailing foodguru@citypantry.com.
Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈