This year’s Pride celebrations will look drastically different than years prior. Because of COVID-19, companies are providing digital alternatives to what were once in-person experiences. Navigating this new reality while also giving Pride Month the attention and respect it deserves can be a bit tricky. Knotch is up for the challenge.

Inclusion has always been one of our core values. We make it our mission to celebrate individual expression among all the incredible Knotchers that make up our family.

So for this year’s Pride, here’s what we are doing.

Knotch Virtual Pride Event

We’re no stranger to online events. This year we already produced a virtual roundtable series with MikMak in which we discussed the impact of COVID-19 with some of the brightest minds in business today. Later this month we’ll also be hosting our Pros & Content Conference 2020 online. 

On June 4th at 2pm ET, we’ll be hosting another virtual roundtable event: Pride in Stride: Modifying Pride Marketing Initiatives. The discussion will focus on how brands are reimagining their Pride initiatives during COVID-19, how brands are reinvesting their Pride budgets, and steps brands should take to avoid Pride corporatization. Representatives from Unilever, PepsiCo, Barclays, Mercer, Siemens, and several other incredible brands will be weighing in on these topics.

Celebrating All Voices

Second, we’re giving brands an opportunity to use the new Pride-themed Knotch feedback unit on any Pride-related content this month for free. This Knotch unit gives brands all the measurement capabilities that our current Knotch unit provides, and also features a rainbow color scheme. Audience sentiment towards branded content is just as important as the sentiment being shared. The new Pride-themed Knotch unit can give brands vital feedback that they need to maximize the impact of their Pride communications.

Contributing to LGBTQ+ Causes

Last year, Knotch donated $5,000 to the LGTBQ Center of New York for Pride month, matching up to $100 for each team member’s contribution.

For this year’s Pride month, Knotch is giving each employee $25 to donate to an LGBTQ+ charity of their choice through Givz. Our Knotchers will have the option to donate to Born This Way Foundation, Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, GLAAD, GLSEN, HRC, National LGBTQ Task Force, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, or any other LGBTQ+ cause of their choosing. We will also match up to $1,000 total from attendees of our Pride in Stride: Modifying Pride Marketing Initiatives virtual roundtable to further contribute to Pride-worthy causes.

Creating a Safe Work Environment

Knotch is proud to launch our LGBTQ+ resource group, which gives our employees the opportunity to access funds and opportunities to celebrate their Pride. This group aims to provide support and contribute to personal and career development in the workplace. The LGBTQ+ resource group will sit alongside our women’s resource group launched last year. 

As you can see, we’re looking forward to a lot this month. But we’re also reflecting on other measures that we can work toward in the future. Knotch Head of People Garrison Gibbons weighs in on what it means to truly implement inclusive policies in the workplace:

“It’s not enough to hire LGBTQ+ candidates, have LGBTQ+ employee resource groups, or orchestrate a Pride campaign. Every policy, procedure, and benefit needs to be relevant to the LGBTQ+ community. Prerequisites are not required to establish inclusive policies and expectations. You don’t have to wait to have an openly trans employee to have gender neutral bathrooms, ask people their pronouns, or establish more inclusive benefits for transitioning individuals.”

While we’re celebrating Pride in many ways within our organization, there’s still work to be done at Knotch, in the larger tech community, in New York City, and around the world. We will continue to work to find new ways to offer support and celebrate Pride.

On behalf of Knotch, we wish everyone a happy Pride month!