Written By
September 6, 2022
August 31, 2022
August 11, 2022
Employees at the GKG headquarters met for a “Lunch and Learn” to discuss Pride Month and the history of the LGBTQ+ community. The event was held in person, with the opportunity for anyone in the company to join via video as well.
GKG’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training Manager, Beverley Davis, hosted the event. Her presentation educated employees about policies and laws in the U.S. that have affected LGBTQ+ people throughout the years. For example, many employees did not realize that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military only ended a little over ten years ago, in 2011. Employees discussed the contradiction of integrity being a key tenant of the military, while LGBTQ+ service members could not be true to themselves during that era, and had to hide their true identity.
Beverly encouraged employees to share their own stories and experiences. People discussed some of their first experiences with the LGBTQ+ community and how things have changed over time as the Pride movement has grown. Some employees shared that while they were in High School, they didn’t know a single person in the LGBTQ+ community. Of course, recognizing now, that it wasn’t because there were none in their school, but because America, as a whole, was not as open and accepting as it is now, though with a lot more work to be done. A good round table discussion included people’s first experiences with the queer community and how certain terms have changed and how people have matured and grown.
Employees at the event, both in person and virtually, embraced the discussion and participated in live Mentimeter polls throughout. One question was, “When you think of Pride Month, what word comes to mind”. You can find the answers shown below in a word cloud. The more a word was submitted, the bigger it appears on the word cloud. For the Lunch & Learn group, that word was “acceptance.” Other sentiments shared were “celebration,” “diversity,” and “equality.”
The presentation included interactive trivia questions about pride month including, “What year was Pride Month established?” This question got a wide array of answers, from 1975 to 2010. The correct answer? 1999! Seeing as no one at the Lunch & Learn got the answer correct, we can safely say that everyone learned at least one new thing from this presentation.
It’s our goal at GKG to create a safe environment where employees can discuss topics that are sensitive, but important. GKG’s Inclusion & Culture team did a phenomenal job with this event, that will certainly lead to ongoing conversations.
