Celebrating LGBTQ+ Equality

Pride began fifty years ago with a march to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots that occurred in June of 1969. While Pride parades usually fill the streets of our cities throughout the month of June, this year our reflection and celebration look a lot different as many of those events have moved online due to COVID-19. 

But while our streets may not see the same Pride parades this year that we’re used to, they are filled with people standing for greater respect for diversity and equal rights, much like they were fifty years ago. Defeating entrenched, structural discrimination and promoting diversity requires everyone’s attention, energy and commitment. This means we must also stand up to racism and intolerance in all its forms as I’ve written about previously. 

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t stopped the LGBTQ+ community from developing creative ways to celebrate Pride Month. In our headquarters’ hometown of D.C., the Capital Pride Alliance is celebrating Pride Month with a virtual dance party, a Pridemobile and TEDx Talk-style speeches. The historic Stonewall National Monument is hosting online visits this year and countless other cities across America are recognizing Pride Month. 

At PhRMA, we’re celebrating by having open and honest conversations about the importance of not only Pride Month, but equality at large. We’re engaging our employees by sharing the importance of Pride, sharing our collective journey toward equality and pausing to ask, “What else can we do?” These efforts build on our commitment to supporting our LGBTQ+ employees, including proudly supporting the Equality Act, legislation that would create federal protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community under U.S. civil rights laws. I’m also pleased that just this week we saw the U.S. Supreme Court affirm that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 

Inclusivity is vital to our industry’s well-being. Study after study has found that companies and organizations that promote a diverse and inclusive culture tend to be more innovative, productive, and achieve higher customer and employee satisfaction. 

I am proud to lead PhRMA, where diversity and inclusion are critical to our work every day and to the patients our companies seek to help. I’m happy to be celebrating Pride Month, even if we have to do it in a socially distant manner. And I’m already looking forward to next year’s Pride Month when, I hope, we will be a few steps closer to equality and will be able to celebrate that progress together in health, in safety and in person.

Steve Ubl is President & CEO of PhRMA