Celebrating Pride @ Tile

Pride Month is a 51-year old tradition where people come together in support of the LGBTQ+ community. These days, many of us celebrate by wearing the symbolic rainbow colors, waving rainbow flags, and throwing epic parties in the name of Love is Love. 

And while that can be great, we can’t forget the history of Pride and the icons that overcame great obstacles to pave the way for the rights of LGBTQ+ people today. Pride Month is also an opportunity to reflect on how you can be an ally and take action to help break down the barriers that many people in the LGBTQ+ community still face. 

We take equity and inclusion seriously, and our mission is to create a culture where every Tiler feels safe and empowered to be their authentic self at work. We know the immense positive impact that a diverse workforce can have, and our goal is to get better at supporting Tilers each and every day.

In this article, you’ll find links to organizations that support LGBTQ+ issues that you can donate to and petitions you can sign that support LGBTQ+ causes. These are just a couple of the ways that you can make our world a more inclusive and equitable place for LGBTQ+ people.

Pride @ Tile

This month, Tile is celebrating by sharing stories from LGBTQ+ voices in Slack and during our All Hands. As a company, we’ll be streaming select sessions from the Lesbians Who Tech and Allies (Not IRL) Pride Summit 2021 and encourage Tilers to register and attend the full event! Tilers also have access to Maven benefits and their “All Paths to Parenthood'' webinar inspired by Pride, discussing gender-affirming care, culturally humble medicine, and alternative paths to parenthood. 

On June 29th, we’re having our second-annual company-wide “Show Your Pride Day,” where LGBTQ+ Tilers and their allies are encouraged to download and use our Zoom backgrounds. It’s a fun way we honor our value of being Better Together and wear the support in our hearts on our sleeves. 

We also encourage everyone to consider supporting some of the following businesses, petitions, and organizations supporting LGBTQ+ people and issues:

DONATE:

• The Marsha P. Johnson Institute: MPJI protects and defends the human rights of Black transgender people by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.

• The Transgender Law Center: Transgender Law Center changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression.

• The Trevor Project: Transgender Law Center changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression.

• The National LGBTQ Task Force: The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives.

ACT:

• Sign the Equality Act petition

• View petitions to protect LGBTQ+ rights in every state

What Does the Future of Allyship Look Like at Tile?

At Tile, our mission to have an inclusive culture is a company-wide priority. And while we know our work is just beginning, we have a few key practices in place that we believe make Tile a great place to work.  

Recently, Tilers have gone through inclusivity training, including specialized workshops about mitigating unconscious bias and interview training so that our company is a psychologically safe environment where everyone can thrive. 

It’s also important to us that the unique perspectives that people LGBTQ+ can offer are heard and implemented into the work that we do for our customers. We’re currently exploring opportunities to partner with LGBTQ+ organizations (e.g. Out in Tech -- Check Them Out!) to aid in our recruiting efforts.

We know allyship is a journey--not a destination--and it’s very possible that we might make a few mistakes along the way. But we’re guided by our Tile value that says that we’re Better Together and by the peace of mind in knowing that we can only become a better workplace if we make an intentional effort. 

Interested in working with us? Check out our careers page, and/or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.” – Barbara Gittings, American LGBTQ activist