What should Gay Pride Month mean to an organization? Like all other commemorative events, I think the Gay Pride Month traces its roots to a spirited, focused, and uncompromising fight for equal rights and freedom. It also reminds us that being fair and just and treating our fellow humans as equals is a principle that we must always uphold, irrespective of an individual’s orientation, preferences, or personal choices. With more awareness and exposure, we learn of social biases and prejudices that cause unimaginable pain and distress to the affected persons and communities. With this new awareness, it becomes necessary to recalibrate our stand and perceptions to become more inclusive, regardless of ‘differences’. After all, who are we to decide what is normal and what isn’t, what is part of the natural order, and what isn’t? It would be very pompous for us to decide the norm for all humans based on our behaviors, beliefs, and perceptions, especially when Nature itself is a glorious celebration of diversity.
So, to come back to the question of what Gay Pride Month should mean to an organization, I think it serves as a good checkpoint for us to ensure that we continue to be fair in all our dealings within the organization. Whether it be recruitment or employee management, how we frame our policies, appoint our executives, or even the way we conduct ourselves in our workplace. We need to ensure that we consciously include everyone as we grow, and the LGBTQ community should be a significant part of this inclusivity. Today, ABSYZ is growing at a rapid pace with challenging targets and a vision that inspires awe, we must ensure that in our race to reach new heights, we take all our associates along, especially those who may feel the need to be explicitly included because of hidden injuries from social exclusion.
My experience with ABSYZ has been very positive in terms of being a company with a conscience; we are not flawless but ready to make corrections and amends as soon as we see something we may have missed. It is this inclusive and collaborative attitude, with a large serving of compassion and empathy that will take us forward and ensure we have good reason to feel proud of our success.
To the LGBTQ community, those within as well as outside ABSYZ, I wish the best on the occasion of Gay Pride Month and on behalf of the organization, express our solidarity with you all.
