Thread by @StraightCharity

Morning folks!! #PrideMonth has finally arrived. Follow this thread throughout the month for top tips on how to celebrate #Pride in a meaningful way at your charity 1/? #Pride2023
#CharitySoStraight

Firstly, it doesn't have to complicated! Focus on what #PrideMonth is about: celebration + protest. Think about content that helps readers learn something about your organisation, but more importantly, the people in it and the people you work with. 2/? #CharitySoStraight #Pride

You have a platform. Use it for good. Enable Queer voices to be heard. Offer them a platform. This is not a time to amplify corporate voice. #PrideMonth is the perfect time to offer a platform to your Queer stakeholders, employees, volunteers or partners #CharitySoStraight
3/?

Too often the focus of #Pride content can be about showboating about your 'corporate policies'. Instead, focus on empowering people from marginalised communities and enabling their stories to be told 4/? #CharitySoStraight #PrideMonth

Question how it will look to your employees if your socials are filled with #Pride content, yet their experience of working for your organisation is that its not particularly LGBTQIA+ friendly? Start by supporting people *inside* your organisation first 5/? #CharitySoStraight

Please, PLEASE don't ever slap a rainbow across your logo and think 'Job done'. This is the VERY worst thing you can do and diminishes the VERY REAL struggles the LGBTQIA+ community faces to a meaningless gesture. Our struggle is REAL 6/? #CharitySoStraight #RainbowWashing #Pride

Call it what you will:
• #RainbowWashing
• #PrideWashing
• #PinkWashing
but charities failing to mention #LGBTQIA+ folks for most of the year, then cynically changing their logos for 1 month in #PrideMonth is harmful and part of our oppression 7/? #CharitySoStraight

Not only is it #PrideMonth, this is the start of #VolunteersWeek too, so we'd just like to take a moment to shout out to our fabulous Queer volunteers. Maybe this week is a good time to give *your* LGBTQIA+ volunteers a shout out too 8/? #CharitySoStraight

Use #PrideMonth as an opportunity to think about how you can be a better ally on a personal level. We love this 👇 from @_BobiRobson from our #CharityHour chat last summer 9/? #ProudAlly #CharitySoStraight

To our point about your LGBTQIA+ employees, think about how you can use #PrideMonth to take really intentional action to support them. Make an effort to lean in. Attend your LGBTQIA+ staff network meeting and listen to their concerns 10/? #CharitySoStraight

Instead of buying flags and rainbow lanyards, consider spending any #Pride budget on development for your LGBTQIA+ staff, or training for the wider workforce to help eliminate microaggressions + challenge hetrosexism 11/? #CharitySoStraight

If you want to be a #ProudAlly beyond your workplace, consider writing to your MP asking for their support to #BanConversionTherapy and to properly fund gender-affirming care for trans people
12/? #CharitySoStraight

One for the #ThirdSectorLeaders who are following. Specifically, what actions will you take or commit to this month that will advance the experience of your LGBTQIA+ staff, volunteers + service users? How will you use your position to advance equity? 13/? #CharitySoStraight

And hopefully you haven't signed off on #PrideWashing your charity logo this year? Not without first considering how you can support + lift up marginalised voices in your organisation and enable their perspectives to be heard 14/? #CharitySoStraight #PrideMonth #Pride2023

One of the biggest barriers to equity, to treating all LGBTQIA+ people working in our sector with respect, is the misconception that things are fine because there's a lot of 'them' working in the sector. But this gets in the way of us making real progress
15/? #CharitySoStraight

Some people in our sector have an absolute conviction that 'we' already are equal + fine. A belief that we are already a completely progressive and rights respecting sector. Dear reader, from our lived experience we can tell you that we absolutely are not 16/? #CharitySoStraight

The only kind of allyship that really matters right now is the vocal, unapologetic kind.
Push back against anti-queer rhetoric anywhere + everywhere you hear it, be it in your office or online (in and out of work) 17/? #PrideMonth #Pride #CharitySoStraight

Pride was and remains a protest, because throughout history and to this day #LGBTQIA+ people have faced oppression. Whilst there has been much progress, there is still SO much to do, both in the UK and beyond #PrideMonth #Pride #PrideMonth2023
18/? #CharitySoStraight

This #PrideMonth make a pledge to take meaningful ACTION that'll make a difference to Queer peoples experience of your charity. So review your recruitment policies (for example) see them through a queer lens (involve us in their development) 19/? #Pride
#CharitySoStraight

Perhaps start monitoring the intersectional diversity of your employees and volunteers? If you don't understand who works or volunteers for you, how can you support your teams properly? 20/? #Pride #CharitySoStraight

#Pride is a protest for change, its NOT just a PR stunt to capture attention!! If your charity is marking #Pride2023 this year, please PLEASE make sure you're doing this in a meaningful way + in COLLABORATION with actual Queer people 21/? #CharitySoStraight

Supposing an #LGBTQIA+ supporter looks at your orgs social feeds during #PrideMonth what will they see? Will they see any content that makes them feel more connected to your cause? Or will they just see a 'rainbowed'* logo + no context?
22/? #CharitySoStraight #Pride #Pride2023

'They totally rainbowed their logo this year'

Yes, 'rainbowed' is now a verb.

Please feel free to flag any charity you see 'rainbowing' their logo this year.

We've spotted quite a few so far this #PrideMonth

23/?

#Pride2023 #PrideMonth2023 #CharitySoStraight

But seriously, this #PrideMonth let’s all call out #RainbowCapitalism wherever we see It. It has NO PLACE in our sector. If you're a charity + the best you can do for us is 'rainbow' your logo for a month, then you're exploitating our communities struggle 24/? #CharitySoStraight

And let's talk #HealthInequalities for a moment. If we know that the #LGBTQIA+ community is more likely to smoke, more likely to experience poor mental health, more likely to be homeless, or more likely to be neuro divergent...

25/? #Pride2023 #CharitySoStraight

...and your org is working in these spaces, what positive actions do you take to ensure you are reaching these communities with your messaging + tackling inequality? 26/? #Pride2023 #PrideMonth #CharitySoStraight

And looping back to point number 3, one of the ways you might better connect with the #LGBTQIA+ community is by giving platform to + amplifying the voices of Queer people within your charity + service users 27/? #Pride2023 #PrideMonth #ServiceUserInvolvement #CharitySoStraight

Or by developing partnerships with LGBTQIA+ orgs to help reach *their* audiences. And we appreciate that this will look very different depending on whether you're a local or national charity 28/? #PrideMonth #Pride2023 #PrideMonth2023 #CharitySoStraight

So, how do you know you are reaching these communities? What data do you track to inform your campaigns? And if you're not tracking data, how do you know if you're reaching the Queer community or not? 29/? #PrideMonth #Pride2023 #PrideMonth2023 #CharitySoStraight

Which brings us nicely to imagery + words? What content do you develop to help your org reach the LGBTQIA+ community? What do the people on your website + on your socials look like? Do they all look the same? 30/? #PrideMonth #Pride2023 #CharitySoStraight

And what about in your recruitment packs? You see, people need to see themselves reflected in your charities world to feel a connection with you, and they need to know that you welcome people like them 31/? #Pride2023 #PrideMonth2023 #CharitySoStraight

Which brings us nicely to language. Do you use gendered language or do you use more inclusive language that might help you reach a broader audience + therefore start to address the inequalities Queer people face? #LanguageMatters 32/? #PrideMonth #Pride2023 #CharitySoStraight

And whilst were talking about inequalities, its also important to recognise that racially minoritised, trans, migrant + disabled people face further discrimination due to these intersections! #IntersectionalityMatters 33/? #PrideMonth #Pride2023 #PrideMonth2023 #CharitySoStraight

And while we're talking about intersectionality, let's talk about GenZ. Because what we know about GenZ is that not only are they more diverse than any other generation before them, but they're also informed + happy to hold you to account 34/? #Pride2023 #CharitySoStraight

And on the back of yesterday's dumpster fire, it feels like a great time to post this: “If you call yourself an ally to a group of people and you aren’t getting hit by the stones being thrown at them, then you aren’t standing close enough.” Stan Mitchell 35/? #CharitySoStraight

Oxfam aren't the first to climb down from posting pro-trans content then caving in to pressure from critters + swiftly removing it. Recently we also saw a cervical screening service taking down posts encouraging trans men to get screened 36/? #Pride2023 #CharitySoStraight

Literally nobody benefits when charities take this course of action + we would suggest it contributes to mistrust that communities might already feel about health care providers 37/? #CharitySoStraight #StandWithTrans

So we need to think about who is harmed by this? Who is disadvantaged when charities take this course of action? Of course, we know the answer to this + it's just not acceptable. This harms the very communities that the charity intended to help 38/? #CharitySoStraight #Pride2023

The critters win + charities are unwittingly complicit in the outcome, which is growing distrust and fewer trans people being helped by the charity that genuinely intended to help them. We must plan these comms with more care + more importantly... 39/? #CharitySoStraight

..we must stand by our values and stand by our trans inclusive policies + programmes. You planned it. You presumably believe in it. So stand by your decision. Be resolute. Don't capitulate to hate!! 40/? #CharitySoStraight #Pride2023

And check out this helpful social media guidance.
Thanks for flagging @Necrohippy 41/? #CharitySoStraight charitiesagainsthate.com/guide-to-best-…

Which leads us nicely into collaboration. Who you choose to work with can not only help you demonstrate your organisations #ProudAlly status, it can also help you reach new audiences with messaging about your vital work 42/? #Pride #CharitySoStraight