Why Hold a Pride Month morning tea at your workplace?
1. Why hold a Pride Morning tea?
The statistics on LGBTIQA+ in the workplace show that a lot of LGBTIQA+ people don’t feel safe enough to be themselves at work.
- 47% of people who are gay and lesbian have experienced workplace sexual harassment in the past 5 years (1)
- LGBTIQA+ employees are twice as likely to be victims of workplace discrimination than their non LGBTIQA+ colleagues (2)
- 15% of LGBTIQA+ employees have called in sick to work due to feeling unsafe, compared to 7% of non-LGBTIQA+ employees (2)
- 32% of Australians believe their employer has a lot more to do to support its LGBTIQA+ employees. (2)
2. Why does being safe enough to be out at work matter?
LGBTIQA+ employees who are out to everyone at work are:
- 50% more likely to innovate than workers who are not out to everyone. (3)
- 35% more likely to work highly effectively in their team. (3)
- 28% more likely to provide excellent customer/client service. (3)
- Out workers also feel less isolated than their closeted siblings (4)
- Don’t have to spend time and effort concealing their true selves, which leaves them more energy for work. (4)
- People who are out as LGBTIQA+ are happier with their careers, and view both their companies and their managers more favourably compared with their closeted peers (5)
3. What enables people to be out at work?
More than anything else – it is having an LGBTIQA+ inclusive culture that made LGBTIQA+ people feel safe to be themselves at work. LGBTIQA+ people in highly inclusive cultures were three times as likely as workers in non-inclusive cultures to be out to everyone at work (3), allowing them to be their true selves. This makes for happier, more productive people who are more likely to stay in their jobs/or with the company. And 45% of LGBTIQA+ workers say that visible allyship (such as a Pride Month morning tea) plays an important role in helping people be open about their identity at work (6).
How to Hold a Pride Month morning tea at your workplace
1. Decide on a date, time and location
Choose a date and time that works for people in your office. Generally, people are more free in the mornings for an event like this, and therefore more likely to attend.
It’s a good idea to pick a date around fortnight from now, to give you time to plan the event.
For the location, will it be in person or online, or a mix of both? If it’s in person, it’s a good idea to find a location that will fit the amount of people you’re hoping will attend. Do you need to book a meeting room, or is your office kitchen big enough for this?
If your office, or at least some of your workmates work remotely, or from home, you can host a ‘virtual morning tea’ where they come together online to enjoy a cuppa together at the same time.
2. Decide on what type of morning tea you’ll hold
This might depend on your workplace.
- If you have a lot of LGBTIQA+ people and ally workmates, it might just be a gathering over cuppas and tasty treats to celebrate Pride Month.
- Or you might think your workmates might want more structured event with games, like a quiz or trivia, or a raffle.
- You might like to focus on fundraising for an LGBTIQA+ charity.
- Maybe it’s a baking competition, where people donate a gold coin to enter, and someone is crowned Baker Royale.
- If you think your business might benefit from a presentation about LGBTIQA+ people or issues, maybe it’s a presentation from a local LGBTIQA+ person?
3. Decide on the menu
Morning teas are, at least partly, about the food, so delicious is the name of the game! You can have a mix of savoury and sweet items and remember to offer something for all the dietary requirements your workmates have!
Decide on your catering options – will you ask people to bring in something to share, will you order catering or will it be a mix of both?
Remember our Eat The Rainbow challenge for Pride Month - what kind of healthy food options can you provide?
And make sure there will be enough cups, plates and cutlery for your guests!
4. Send out invites
You can invite people via email, a calendar invite, social media, posters around the office, printed invites or even in person. You might like to ask attendees to RSVP to help you figure out catering. Be sure to tell them why the morning tea is being held, what activities you might have planned and which dietary requirements you’ll be catering for!
5. Do you need decorations?
Some offices go all out with decorations for events like this, and some are more subdued.
- Do you have a decorations box you can raid for rainbow items?
- Do you have a small budget to go out a purchase some decorations that after your morning tea, can then be put in the decorations box for next year?
- There are also loads of printable decorations to be found online if you’d rather go in that direction.
6. Fundraising
If you decide to do a fundraising morning tea, do include this information on the flier – which charity you’re fundraising for and why.
You also might need a donation box or jar so that people can donate cash on the day.
You can also set up an online donation account with organisations such as gofundme.com, chuffed.org, mycause.com.au amongst many, many others. Do an internet search to choose the right platform for you.
7. After the event, thank your guests!
After the morning tea, be sure to thank everyone who attended (and/or donated). In attending these kinds of LGBTIQA+ events, you’re showing your support and helping make the world a visibly safer place for LGBTIQA+ people. You might not know who among your workmates are LGBTIQA+, but they’ll know you support them.