Members and coalitions within the LGBTQIA+ community organise back to back events to celebrate Pride Month. Corporates too have joined in with gestures like changing the background of the company’s logo into rainbow hues and hosting sensitisation seminars. Conversations around ‘rainbow washing’ and ‘pink washing’ have questioned the impact of such events, with queer employees demanding more from employers than a few events in June.
What is rainbow washing?
The term is used to refer to corporates using pride logos and events during Pride Month to enhance their image without taking meaningful steps to help queer employees. As Veena Kulkarni, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) professional at Road to Utopia, a queer-feminist collective, explains, “It’s when they spend a lot of money on marketing but won’t engage with the real issue. Even when we do a sensitisation session, leadership is never involved, it is always at either mid-level management or below.”
Anisha Srikar, 25, notes the performativity of events at a former workplace saying, “We had webinars on queer people, posters put up, and even a pride playlist – it did not have a major impact on the closeted queer people there or on me, as the only out and proud employee.”
Some are apprehensive of the attention pride events put on employees. “Having Pride Month celebrated in the office is great, but it brings unwanted attention to us in a place that could turn some people hostile towards us,” says Murtaza, 23, a corporate employee.
The wants, the needs
Bengaluru youth is demanding more impactful measures. Kulkarni notes that Gen Z, in particular, are bold and clear, saying, “There is a big generation gap in the corporate structure since Gen Z has started joining in entry-level positions. They are very vocal but leadership must listen. Otherwise, they accept the offer but keep looking for a place that meets their expectations.”
Raju, a trans and non binary individual who also hosts DEI workshops, voices some changes that youngsters are looking for, saying, “Workplaces need to make structural, tangible policy changes, such as bringing gender-neutral washrooms in their workplaces, having gender-neutral dress codes, strong anti-retaliation policies against reporting homophobia or transphobia at work, insurance for same-sex partners, and support for different forms of transitioning, especially those who have taken a break in their career for transitioning.”
Is it all bad?
Despite criticism, Veena notes that these corporate pride events have had a positive impact too. “There was once an uptick in queer hiring, trans hiring, sensitisation across the board, even executive level people talking about it because people realised that it’s more profitable to be inclusive,” adding that while people outside the firms saw the rainbow washing, it did feel like there was a certain sense of pride that came from queer people within the organisation.
The USA Effect
While the last decade has seen progressive global changes in terms of LGBTQIA+ rights and some positive change in India with Section 377 being read down (despite marriage equality being denied), the Trump presidency has seen American companies forced to scale back DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programmes. This has affected Indian companies too, particularly those that have American clients, according to Kulkarni. She notes, “This year has been a pretty quiet pride month compared to last year. I’ve been hearing things like they don’t have the budget for events and they want to do something low-key.” Raju too echoes this, saying, “A lot of companies are dialing it down, but fortunately, governmental protections offer us some protection from harassment and we can look at legal remediation. HR (Human Resources) is also working closely to ensure that they are delivering a safe environment for queer folks.”
While the last decade has seen progressive global changes in terms of LGBTQIA+ rights and some positive change in India with Section 377 being read down (despite marriage equality being denied), the Trump presidency has seen American companies forced to scale back DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programmes. This has affected Indian companies too, particularly those that have American clients, according to Kulkarni. She notes, “This year has been a pretty quiet pride month compared to last year. I’ve been hearing things like they don’t have the budget for events and they want to do something low-key.” Raju too echoes this, saying, “A lot of companies are dialing it down, but fortunately, governmental protections offer us some protection from harassment and we can look at legal remediation. HR (Human Resources) is also working closely to ensure that they are delivering a safe environment for queer folks.”