At Alter Agents, we’re heartened to see the progress our society has made regarding the rights and acceptance of LGBTQ* people. We’ve collectively made great strides over the past decade, and those deserve celebration. But in a year that has seen the rights of LGBTQ* people regress in some parts of the world, we also need to recognize that progress is fragile. It requires constant work.

On this 52nd anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall Riots, we’re called to reaffirm that Pride isn’t about rainbow-tinged corporate logos or flowery messaging about love that some issue in an effort to influence consumers. It’s about taking action and promoting accountability such that everyone in our society is afforded equal measures of dignity and rights. We will stand for no less.

We’re a small business, and we’re growing. Part of that growth is making sure that we have the policies in place to make sure that LGBTQ* Agents who are already here and those who join our expanding team find their needs met each and every day.

That’s why we’re publicly announcing our Pride Commitment: an ongoing effort to ensure that our corner of the world is and will forever remain a space where LGBTQ* colleagues can thrive at work and in life, happy and comfortable being their full selves. The commitment relies on four principles:

• We remain fully, unreservedly committed to supporting each other’s authentic selves.
• Our company is open, respectful, and works for its employees, not the other way around.
• This work drives towards tangible change, not empty words or promises.
• Candid accountability is vital to success.

To that end, we recognize that reaffirming that we’ve built a welcome, inclusive workplace culture isn’t enough. This year, Alter Agents took several actions to further our Pride Commitment:

• The Action Team, our employee resource group, led the research team in examining how we ask demographic questions about sexuality and gender identity in our quantitative survey work. These discussions will result in standard language that we will use moving forward so that all respondents find themselves validated when they interact with our company.
• We conducted an audit of our company-sponsored healthcare policies to verify that we offer adequate coverage for LGBTQ* mental and medical health, paying particular attention to the health needs of transgender workers.
• We conducted an audit of all of our company benefits to affirm that they extend spousal and domestic partnership benefits equally to same and different-sex couples.
• We compiled a set of gender transition guidelines for our company to follow so that we’re prepared to support any employee who transitions while they’re with us.
• Our standard email signatures feature our personal pronouns in an effort to build an inclusive company culture and be welcoming and accessible to all clients and vendors.
  

We will not stop there. In the coming months, our Action Team will lead the company forward in examining how we can best apply diversity and nondiscrimination standards to our suppliers, actively recruit job applicants from the LGBTQ* community, and build philanthropic giving guidelines. And we’ll be faithful to the progress we’ve made, because our commitment to each other as colleagues, neighbors, and people demands it.

From all of us at Alter Agents, in solidarity, Happy Pride!