Can you believe it’s June already? That’s right – it’s Pride!
Welcome to the vibrant and empowering month of June, where rainbows decorate the sky and the spirit of celebration fills the air radiating a powerful message of inclusivity, acceptance, and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. From the rainbow-hued sidewalks to the laboratories and classrooms, Pride Month’s spirit of unity merges with our mission to advance social mobility.
Pride & Social Mobility
Beyond the dazzling displays of pride lies a deeper connection between Pride Month and the pursuit of social mobility. We care deeply about advancing social mobility, and that’s why we’re joining the conversation about Pride.
By raising awareness about issues such as discrimination, prejudice, and inequality, this Month encourages society to address these systemic problems and work towards creating a more inclusive and diverse culture. We have seen first-hand the power of diversity and the incredible contributions that individuals from all walks of life bring to the table.
“This inclusivity and equal treatment is essential for social mobility, as it allows marginalised communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals, to have equal opportunities to succeed and thrive.”
What does our support look like?
Our commitment to this community extends beyond Pride, and it always has. This is what we do every single day as an organisation to support the LGBTQ+ community:
- Raising awareness through social media, our newsletters and website to talk about important events to this community like Pride, LGBT History Month and Trans Disability Day
- Cultivating a safe and inclusive workspace for everyone at In2scienceUK, amongst our incredible team of volunteers, supporters, students, researchers and core team
- Collaborating with LGBTQ+ Creators and LGBTQ+ Led organisations to fully represent our diverse community and make sure that everyone feels seen
- Showing visible support by interacting with LGBTQ+ campaigns and using the Pride flag to signal to this community that they are both welcome and respected.
We know we can do more, so we will do more.
We have insightful conversations with this community across our whole network, from our students, to researchers, and key organisations that we work with. Staying informed and listening to this community is truly important to us, and we’ve listened. Going forward we will all be better by:
- Engaging with larger LGBTQ+ STEM Creators to show our students in particular that there are incredible figures out there that are from the their community
- Focusing more on the LGBTQ+ community in our Diversity and Inclusion, and talk more about the impact that our three programmes have on this community
- Starting conversations through Webinars and Events, to share queer perspectives from within STEM and relevant issues for the LGBTQ+ community and for all of us to hear
“We firmly believe that fostering an inclusive environment goes hand in hand with nurturing creativity, innovation, and progress, not only in STEM, but in all aspects of life.”
Our plans for #pride2023
Our team has been hard at work thinking about the best way that we can celebrate the LGBTQ+ community this month. We had lots of ideas, but one thing was certain: we needed to have our biggest Pride celebration yet! This is no small feat, but the In2scienceUK community pulled together to help guide us on our way to our best and biggest Pride Celebration:
- Raising a series of thought-provoking discussions, with everything from ‘how to be an ally in STEM’ to talking about the impact
- Highlighting webinars that include LGBTQ+ STEM professionals or tackle issues that the community faces in STEM
- Sharing key resources and sign-posting to LGBTQ+ Creators and Organisations that are pushing-boundaries and breaking-stigma in the world of STEM