Celebrating Pride: What It Means to Us

Lauren Mandelker, Global CSR Manager at Keywords Studios, reflects on the different challenges around celebrating Pride and highlights some of the many Keywords studios actively supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community worldwide.

Author: Lauren Mandelker, Global CSR Manager at Keywords Studios

Date Published: 24/07/2024

I've had the pleasure of organising Pride activities for years at Keywords Studios in Montreal; bringing in speakers, connecting with non-profits, and being active outside of work too.

There is an interesting challenge around Pride in different regions around the world; highlighting community intersections, comfort in visibility and being out, being educated on the topic, and being equipped to deal with difficult situations. In some places, there are even legal implications.

As someone who has attended Pride events for many years before working in this space, I have had conflicting feelings about for-profit brands at queer events. I think it's quite normal that we view a corporate side of Pride with some suspicion. How can we not? We've heard of instances where a company will stick a rainbow on their products but marginalise queer employees. Or seen politicians participate in Pride parades, but lobby against the community.

On the other hand, as a member of the Global DEIB Council at Keywords Studios, and as a human, I want my colleagues to know how deeply Pride matters, and how much we value our queer colleagues, from all levels at Keywords. One of my favorite workdays this year was being in a room with Executives who wanted to ensure that our 2SLGBTQIA+ colleagues feel supported, included, and seen.

Still, I know there is no way I can talk about it on a large scale without encountering the same dubious feelings about legitimacy of the message, or even accusations of virtue-signaling I've contemplated in both personal and professional spaces. For anyone who has systematically been marginalised, mitigating intentions and reactions is not new. How can one not be on their guard?

I still want to celebrate, acknowledge, recall and support, and I know I am not the only one. There are folks acknowledging, learning, and celebrating across many of our Keywords studios; from charity fundraisers to speaker series, and marching in Pride parades, it is wonderful to feel united in this with so many of my colleagues, including many of whom I have yet to meet.

What I hope to see is that when Keywords Studios says "Happy Pride" that my colleagues know how deeply it is meant. And to know that behind the "the company" are real people, who truly care and are eager to celebrate our own 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Some of This Year's Pride Activities at Keywords Studios

ICHI welcomed back Art Director and Animator Amee Wilson, a former employee, to give an insightful talk on visibility and accountability during the month of Pride and beyond. Amee brings to her work a passion for ideas that tackle inequality and illustrates and animates the Queer Chameleon and Anxious Animals series, amassing more than one million followers across her social platforms.
Keywords Studios in Manila helped marked Pride month with a social media campaign entitled HUEniqueness, celebrating all the colours of life! The team also took part in the Pride March in Manila in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.
The team at Lively took part in a walk, run and swim initiative throughout June to help raise money for the charity Mermaids. You can continue to support their efforts towards the 200km goal here.
Keywords Studios in Mexico took part in "Marcha de la Diversidad", the annual Pride parade in Mexico City. Taking part is becoming a special and anticipated team tradition at Keywords in Mexico!
Liquid Violet partnered with Out Making Games for a Pride Games Night on Friday June 28th to celebrate Pride and the video games industry over some drinks, nibbles, games and chats.