Column by Steen Lund Olsen
Once again this year, Finansforbundet will proudly raise its “The Right to Be You” banner high at the Copenhagen Pride Parade.
Because it is a matter close to Finansforbundet’s heart that everyone should feel safe and proud to be themselves – in the meeting room, at the lunch table, in conversations with customers and in all the other situations that together make up working life.
We see this quite simply as a right that, as a trade union community, we are always prepared to fight for. Exactly as the slogan on our banners says.
We live in a time of strong pressure on LGBTQIA+ people and LGBTQIA+ rights. The horrific attack on Berlin Pride just a few weeks ago, and last year’s ban on the Pride Parade in Hungary, are just two examples showing that everyone’s right to freedom, community and love cannot be taken for granted. It is not a given.
Translated into everyday life, this means that as an LGBTQIA+ person, you always have something at stake simply because you are who you are. Who you love. Who your family is. Whether you are open about who you are. Without the option of stepping away. Without the option of taking a break. It is simply a condition of being in the world.
That is why we need companies and trade unions to step up as allies for everyone who has the courage to be themselves every single day.
Unfortunately, we see companies – people’s workplaces – going in and out of the rainbow like yo-yos: supporting Pride, withdrawing their support for Pride, supporting Pride again. Depending on what is convenient at the time. Depending on the political winds.
At Finansforbundet, we believe that workplaces and trade unions must recognise that supporting important causes is not necessarily convenient.
But we have an obligation to use our sphere of influence for the benefit of all minorities. To be good allies. That is the only way we can create inclusive workplaces where there is room for all the diversity that comes with being human.
Of course, it requires perseverance and, sometimes, courage.
But let us never forget who the “truly” courageous ones are. Who actually has something at stake. And it is neither companies nor trade unions.
So, from us, there is simply one message to the LGBTQIA+ community: We stand with you. We have your back. We speak up. Even when it is uncomfortable.
Because there is always someone in the room who needs to be seen, heard and understood. Someone who needs to feel the strength of a community free from prejudice.
That is why the Pride Parade is still needed – and this year it can celebrate its 30th anniversary. We must never make the mistake of reducing Pride to simply being a celebration. Instead, year after year, we must insist on making Pride the most vibrant and colourful protest for a life of freedom and love, with equal rights for everyone under the rainbow.
That is why Finansforbundet wholeheartedly supports Pride – until the work is done. At the same time, we work throughout the year to promote inclusion in our workplaces.