As we continually strive to enhance our products and services, we are equally committed to ensuring the well-being of our employees – regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, cultural background, religious views, age, and physical and mental abilities. Visma aims to be a safe space for everyone.
Although we’re dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive culture all year round, Pride month offers a special opportunity to celebrate the individual differences and unique perspectives that make us who we are.
Pride month is for everyone
LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive term that encompasses people of all genders, sexualities, identities, and allies. It’s an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual +. Pride month is a time to come together in love, friendship, and support, to celebrate the progress of LGBTQIA+ rights – human rights, in other words – while also recognising the work that still needs to be done.
So, celebrating Pride month isn’t just for those who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community; it’s for everyone. No one should have to hide who they truly are at work, or anywhere for that matter. Celebrating Pride at your workplace isn’t about securing a diverse workforce, it’s about recognising the broader impact that the LGBTQIA+ community has. Pride embraces fathers of pansexual people, cousins of transgender people, best friends of gender fluid people, and the future children of our friends and family who have yet to figure things out.
Why is the Pride movement so important to Visma?
According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation:
- 46% of LGBTQIA+ workers are closeted at work.
- 1 in 5 LGBTQIA+ workers report being told by coworkers to conform more to traditional gender norms in how they dress.
- 53% of LGBTQIA+ workers are made to feel uncomfortable by jokes at the expense of their community.
- 31% of LGBTQ+ workers experience unhappiness or depression at work.
- LGBTQIA+ workers generally hesitate to report negative comments directed towards them to their supervisors or HR because they believe nothing would be done about it.
Despite progress in diversity initiatives and acceptance, this data highlights the ongoing challenges that LGBTQIA+ individuals are facing in the workplace. Too many still experience discrimination, a pressure to conform, lack of support, and a sense of alienation. This is why the Pride movement is so important, and why organisations need continuous efforts all year round to create truly inclusive and supportive work environments.
So, how are we planning on celebrating Pride?
Everything begins with dialogue. By hosting seminars with both internal and external speakers across various Visma offices and online, we aim to create a safe space for our employees to engage with and learn about the Pride movement. Additionally, our D&I activities and plans to celebrate Pride include:
- Throughout the month of June, we’re publishing a series of blog posts in which we interview various coworkers that are allies or part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
- We have created internal toolkits that include a Pride-themed background for online meetings.
- We’ve also created social media toolkits including Pride-themed Visma logos and cover photos that are available to all our companies and employees.
- All employees are encouraged to update their email signature with preferred pronouns in our signature generator.
- Our internal feedback tool that employees fill out every month includes a D&I index, and we are consistently in the top 5% of the tech industry.
From all of us to all of you: Happy Pride! Let’s keep the conversation going, support one another, and celebrate the vibrancy that diversity and inclusion brings us.