Celebrating PRIDE: Championing Allyship in the Workplace

Did you know that just because you have gay friends, it does not automatically mean you support the whole community? If you wholeheartedly accept members of the LGBTQ+ community without discrimination, you are called an ally. An ally is someone who is not part of the LGBTQ+ minority, but supports their rights and promotes equality for all.

However, there’s a difference between being an active ally and a passive one. According to The Commons Social Change Library, passive allies are people who seemingly support a marginalized community (in this case, LGBTQ+ people) but aren’t doing anything to show it. Allyship is more than just tolerating the LGBTQ+ community on social media, at public places or even at work. Active allies uplift the community itself to champion equality for their rights and treatment.

Alongside family, friends, and school, a workplace is an environment where your actions as an ally can matter the most. This Pride Month, corporations who champion active allyship are placed at the forefront. One of the most notable companies to actively support their LGBTQ+ employees is Procter & Gamble (P&G).

Born out of a goal to create a more inclusive and progressive workplace for their LGBTQ+ employees, P&G established GABLE in 1996, which stands for Gay, Ally, Bisexual, and Lesbian Employees. It is an affinity group for employees who are members of the LGBTQ+ community and for active allies championing equality and inclusion.

Active allyship is more than talk. P&G has actively participated in nearly 50 pride events and celebrations globally since 2000. Despite the setbacks brought by the pandemic, P&G still celebrated pride month virtually across the region.

Dubbed as #PrideON, P&G celebrated the progress that the LGBTQ+ community has made in fighting for equality in the workplace. Hosted by Joey Mead-King, a Filipina model and LGBTQ+ advocate, the event featured several P&G leaders who strongly stand for active allyship within the company. P&G’s very own CEO for Beauty and Global Co-sponsor of GABLE, Alex Keith, kicked off the event to share how P&G brands continue to be inclusive to reflect the company’s active allyship.

Moriaki Kida, the COO of EY Japan, talked about how a company giving equal opportunities and privileges is vital to an LGBTQ+ person’s performance at work.

On the 2nd day of the summit, P&G’s Chief Equality & Inclusion Officer Shelly McNamara shared her own life experiences both as an LGBTQ+ mother and as a leader in P&G.

Celebrating Pride Month has been associated with marching alongside members of the LGBTQ+ community and fellow allies. Despite COVID-19  restrictions, #PrideON was still able to make the spirit of pride felt even at home. P&G held its first-ever virtual Pride March called the 2021 Step Up Challenge. The month-long event had employees across the region walking in solidarity for a cause.  Marching towards a goal of 10 million steps, the company pledged to donate 1 million pesos to LoveYourselfPH, an organization that provides free HIV testing, counseling, treatment, and life coaching in the Philippines. The march was successful - with participating employees doubling their original goal and achieving a total of 23.4 million steps, with Philippines churning out 35% of the total step count.

To end the event on a colorful note, #PrideON celebrated each GABLE region’s milestones as they hosted the first-ever Pride Awards. P&G’s Senior Vice President for Olay and Personal Care, and the Executive Sponsor for GABLE in the region, Priyali Kamath, awarded employees who exerted outstanding efforts towards equality and inclusion.

The success of #PrideON proved that inclusivity and active allyship in the workplace encourages employees to bring their best selves into work. Pride may be an annual event but companies like P&G champion creating a safe and inclusive workplace for employees from all walks of life. P&G recognizes domestic partners of any gender as eligible dependents for employee benefits. Beyond this, P&G also has an industry-leading Share the Care program. It is their paid parental leave program which grants all P&G parents -- regardless of gender or civil status --  at least eight weeks of paid parental leave. Even adoptive parents or dads can take these eight weeks to care for their new kids, which is much longer than the standard seven days paternity leave the local law provides.  Now, all kinds of parents have equal opportunity to care for and bond with biological or adopted children new to their family. 

Visit P&G’s page to know more about GABLE and P&G’s ongoing projects that champion for inclusivity and equality in the workplace.