Pride Month: celebrating LGBTIQA+ communities

June is Pride Month around the world, which is a powerful time for the LGBTIQA+ community. Why does Pride Month matter in the workplace? 

Pride started as a protest; a civil rights movement rising up against police brutality and systemic discrimination towards the LGBTIQA+ communities. This history is more relevant today than ever. One look at the news reveals that for many queer people, safety and inclusion aren’t givens, but conditions we fight to create. And as we’ve seen in the US and now locally in Queensland, with regards to young trans people accessing life-saving medical support, the rights we’ve fought so hard for can be torn away with the flick of a politician’s misguided wrist. 

In the context of workplaces, particularly in the public purpose sector, Pride Month is a chance to shine a light on where things stand when it comes to LGBTIQA+ inclusion. To dig beyond the rainbow optics and review the culture underneath. While there’s been progress, 40% of LGBTIQA+ Australians still don’t feel accepted at work (Private Lives 3, La Trobe University, 2020). 

Evidence shows that when organisations actively invest in the inclusion of LGBTIQA+ employees – through things like allyship training, leadership involvement and policy updates – they see measurable improvements in staff wellbeing, job satisfaction, and retention across the board (Diversity Council Australia, 2021). It also sends a clear message to staff and the broader community: your organisation is one where employees are not only safe, but genuinely valued. 

The VPS People Matter Survey highlighted opportunities to improve inclusion across the public sector. What helps organisations move beyond symbolic Pride gestures toward lasting, meaningful change? And what role do leaders play in that shift? 

Lasting inclusion takes more than rainbow morning teas, it takes structure, investment, follow-through and evaluation. Put it this way, from personal experience, a rainbow cupcake doesn’t mean much if I’m still hearing slurs in the hallway or my manager continues to misgender me. The organisations we’ve supported at Queer Town to move beyond tokenism are the ones willing to ask: Where are we falling short? What aren’t we seeing? Why is there a culture of silence? 

That means learning firsthand from subject matter experts, resourcing employee networks, funding inclusion efforts and measuring the impacts. Leaders in the public sector hold a lot of power here. When inclusion is something leaders personally champion, rather than delegate, it allows and encourages others to take it seriously. Remember: you’re not expected to have all the answers – that’s what organisations like Queer Town are here to help you with. We just need your willingness to learn and grow. 

Celebrating Pride and driving inclusion can’t fall solely on LGBTIQA+ staff. What does genuine, team-wide allyship look like? And how can organisations make inclusion a shared responsibility? 

Great question. If inclusion only lives in the hands of queer staff, it’s not inclusion – it’s likely a burden. 

Team-wide allyship means everyone in the workplace recognises their responsibility to contribute to a culture of inclusion and respect. We can’t leave the work to the people most impacted. This can look like anything from using gender inclusive language around the office, taking the minutes for the Pride Network, adding pronouns to email signatures, speaking up if someone crosses a line, sharing resources. 

Allyship is not about getting it perfect. No one ever does. It’s about taking active steps to improve. From my perspective, learning firsthand from the community, such as the training program we’re delivering with IPAA, is the best place to start. 

Middle managers often shape workplace culture day to day. How can we better support them to lead with care, confidence, and inclusivity? 

Speaking from experience, middle managers are often the ones fielding the hard conversations. Whether it’s managing team conflict, quiet feedback or leadership disconnect, they carry a lot. We need to provide managers with more than a diversity policy and best wishes, they need language, tools, and space to practice. And they need to know they won’t be thrown under the bus if they slip up along the way. 

At Queer Town, we’re big on normalising not knowing everything. You simply can’t be an expert on every lived experience in the workplace. But when a manager is supported to lead with confidence and care, that shapes team culture. 

How does the Queer Town course help build that confidence in teams? 

We create a judgement-free space for teams to collaboratively learn together and build a strong foundation in language and terminology. We walk through real scenarios, share stories and facilitate group discussions, and answer the questions people are often too afraid to ask. We equip teams with practical tips and strategies they can implement the moment they leave the workshop. 

Over the years we’ve seen a clear pattern: people want to be inclusive, they just don’t want to mess it up. This course is designed to melt that fear away and empower teams to get started or take the next steps. 

What else should IPAA Victoria members know about the course? 

It works. We’ve developed a very specific, highly engaging and impact-driven recipe for LGBTIQA+ inclusion training in the workplace. In 2025 alone, almost 100% of Queer Town’s workshop participants have reported feeling better equipped to support their LGBTIQA+ colleagues as a result of our training. 

And the cherry on top? By engaging with this course, you’re directly supporting an Australian-based, queer-owned and led, small business that invests all its proceeds back into the local LGBTIQA+ community. So, not only are you investing in your teams and workplace culture, but you’re also directly investing in community. 

There’s nothing token about that.