Why Pride Month is So Important This Year

I love June. Summer is starting and the most colorful celebration of the year begins: Pride. From our office in New York, I can see the rainbow flags all over Times Square, symbolizing our rich and beautiful LGBTQ+ community.

Pride month celebrates the tremendous progress made for the rights and welfare of the LGBTQ+ community. From family rights (surrogacy, IVF, and adoption) to healthcare for trans people in the United States, the community has continued to make strides. Amidst this celebration, however, we need to remember that not everyone is free. Earlier this year Uganda passed a law which imposes a life sentence for those engaging in same-sex relationships. In the last year however, three countries-Andorra, Cuba, Slovenia, and most recently Estonia-legalized same-sex marriage. There is cause for both celebration and alarm, not just in Africa.

Sadly, the situation is worsening in the United States. In the last year, we have seen a dramatic rise in the legislative attempts to restrict the personal freedoms of LGBTQ+ people. Trans adults and youth are the biggest targets.

According to a new report released by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) this month called LGBTQ+ Americans Under Attack: “More than 525 bills were introduced in 41 states [75 passed]. Over 220 of these bills explicitly targeted transgender people.”

Outside the U.S. and Europe, the situation is more dire. Sixty-five countries currently criminalize same-sex behavior. Punishments vary from whipping to the death penalty.

Nasdaq is a critical influencer in the global economy, and we can make positive change by modeling the inclusive behavior within our company that we want to see outside of it. Nasdaq strongly encourages every employee to be themselves at work and that includes sharing all the things that make you unique. Your empathy and your experiences help fuel a diversity of ideas, which makes us a stronger, more innovative company.

Being empathetic and inclusive is easier when we have a shared language. You have probably been hearing many new terms and wonder what they mean. Here is a link to the definitive glossary of terms from HRC.

I hope that each of you will have an opportunity to celebrate your personal freedoms this month, but I know some of you may also be feeling distressed or anxious. If so, please lean on your co-workers and reach out to the OPEN and other employee groups for support. Additionally, my team and I have an open-door culture: please feel free to reach out to any of us for support or conversation as well.

Ghostwritten for Laura Agharkar, former AVP of People Experience and Culture at Nasdaq.