Pride Month: Fostering LGBTQ+ Inclusivity

Pride Month is a global celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and beyond (LGBTQ+) community and historical movements made for their rights and acceptance. Although it is not uniform to a single month worldwide, Pride Month is observed in the month of June for many countries, including the U.S, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. A key hallmark in honoring the month of June for PRIDE is the 1969’s Stonewall Resistance, when citizens of Greenwich Village, New York City protested police treatment of LGBTQ+ patrons of the Stonewall Inn. Pride Month – rich with rallies, commemorations, and content dedicated to queer culture and accomplishments – is also a time for reflection, understanding, and growth.

 

FOSTERING SAFE LGBTQ+ SPACES

As a member of the Elsevier family, the Aries Systems team is welcome to participate, leverage, and share content, resources, and events held by Elsevier and their subsidiaries. Elsevier Connect has created a centralized Pride Hub for LGBTQ+ research, news, and resources. As an extension of these efforts, Aries launched our own PRIDE chapter last year to continue our support for the LGBTQ+ community. The mission of our internal PRIDE employee resource group (ERG) is to foster LGBTQ+ spaces within Aries where colleagues feel safe enough to bring their authentic selves, experiences, and thoughts as we continue to develop deep acceptance of, and pride in, ourselves and our community. The PRIDE group meets frequently to discuss cultural, social, historical, and political impacts by/on the LGBTQ+ communities, share personal stories, and explore educational and support opportunities in a safe environment. Open to LGBTQ+ employees and allies, the PRIDE group proactively practices psychological safety by defining the concept of “safe enough” as an environment that allows participants to take reasonable risks – such as expressing their true selves and LGBTQ+ views vulnerably – or make “mistakes” without fear of repercussion or judgement to allow room for growth with healthy boundaries. We learn from each other’s experiences how to build a more inclusive world, in the workplace and beyond.

 

OUR DEI COMMITMENT: TOGETHER AT ARIES

At Aries, we recognize that our success starts with our team. We strive to foster a flexible, inclusive, and welcoming work environment where diverse ideas are both encouraged and celebrated. In addition to our pillars of culture, we champion integrity, authenticity, and respect across all facets of our operations – inspiring collaboration and innovation in which all voices are valued. Creating equal opportunities for growth and empowering individuals to be their true selves not only makes us stronger, but allows us to represent a landscape as diverse as the research community we serve.

 

IN THE MEDIA

Each month, leaders of the Aries Pride group share content and resources that cover LGBTQ+ topics, stories, and voices – both fiction and non-fiction. Some of the media highlighted include:

Books:

  • One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
  • The ABCs of LGBT+ by Ash Hardell
  • Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
  • Mad Honey: A Novel by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
  • Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Movies/Shows:

  • Netflix: A Secret Love
  • Netflix: Uncoupled
  • Amazon Prime: Paper Girls
  • Netflix: Feel Good
  • Netflix: Pray Away documentary
  • HBO Max: The Last of Us
  • Netflix: Do Revenge
  • Netflix: Call Me By Your Name
  • Hulu: Love, Victor
  • Netflix: The Half of It
  • Netflix: XO, Kitty

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