Progress Supports LGBTQIA+ Rights

Recent legal decisions in the U.S. and across the globe, and the harm and violence escalating towards the LGBTQIA+ community, have once again incited fear and wariness.

At Progress, we greatly value inclusion and diversity and encourage the mutual respect of others. We condemn all forms of racism, discrimination, hatred and inhumanity. These toxic forces undermine the values we hold dear and work exhaustively to cultivate in our company and our communities.

Throughout all of this, we are #ProgressPROUD to see Progressers continue to stand together and support each other. During Pride Month this June, Progressers across the globe celebrated the community and came together to raise almost $6,000 USD for The Trevor Project, a non-profit that supports LGBTQIA+ youth in the U.S. and whose mission it is to end suicide among LGBTQIA+ young people.

Here are some of the activities we hosted, supported by Plus, Progress’ LGBTQIA+ employee resource group (ERG) and their leaders, Maryian Vasev and Todor Totev, and executive sponsors Jeremy Segal and Jennifer Ortiz:

• We participated in Sofia Pride in Bulgaria, hosting a Progress booth, and held Pride celebrations in our Madison, WI, Alpharetta, GA, Morrisville, NC and Burlington, MA offices. Progressers came together to support each other, learn more about the history of the LGBTQIA+ community and enjoy food and music from the community.
• Plus sponsored a session with Monica D. Livingston titled “All the Letters: Understanding and supporting our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and communities.” During this session, participants took a unique and interactive journey toward understanding the spectrum of LGBTQIA+ and human gender and sexuality implications in the workplace. Monica provided a compelling history (both generally and through her own story as a community member and mother), explored the state of the LGBTQIA+ community now, disentangled gender and sexuality and shared frameworks for allyship.
• Leaders of Plus developed an LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Handbook, sharing information on Pride Month, LGBTQIA+ flags and symbols, history, words and meanings, benefits at Progress and more.
• A playlist on the Blinkist platform featured stories of and about the LGBTQIA+ community such as The Glass Closet by John Browne, She/He/They/Me by Robyn Ryle, Stonewall by Martin Duberman and more.
• As a collaboration between Unidos (Progress’ Hispanic employee resource group) and Plus, Unidos co-leader Barbara Gurgel wrote a blog post titled, “Five Queer Latine Icons (who are not Frida Kahlo).”

To all those who continue to support the LGBTQIA+ community, including Progressers around the globe, thank you. To those who would like to lend their support, we encourage you to make a donation to The Trevor Project if you’re able, and further their mission to end suicide among LGBTQIA+ youth.

Together, we make progress.