Deciem Beauty Group Inc. is marking Pride Month with a series of employee events to support LGBTQ2S+ employees, allies and the wider community.
The employer hosted a fireside chat featuring Latoya Nugent, head of engagement at not-for-profit organization Rainbow Railroad, and Matthew Cutler, vice‐president of exhibitions at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The event also featured a performance from Canada’s Drag Race season 5 winner the Virgo Queen and an employee barbecue.
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In addition, an employee fundraiser generated funds for Rainbow Railroad and several employees will be participating in this weekend’s Toronto Pride parade.
“Deciem is showing up in a way that’s more authentic than any kind of rainbow-washing or performative actions,” says Sara Fromstein, director of belonging and social impact at Deciem. “We have made the decision to allocate a lot of our donation funds this year to LGBTQ2S+ organizations.”
The company marks Pride celebrations in each of global markets, many of which mark the occasion at different times of the year.
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For employers who want to support LGBTQ2S+ employees, she encourages them to partner with LGBTQ2S+ organizations for employee volunteering opportunities, as well as using their platform to share information and provide educational resources to reinforce DEI within their organization.
Fromstein, who identifies as queer and Indigenous, says her commitment to DEI comes from her own unique perspective.
“We are still in very much in celebration mode with Pride. But with a lot of the global situations that are unraveling across the U.S. and the U.K. — in particular with trans rights but across the entire LGBTQ2S+ community — we wanted to make sure that there was a layer of awareness . . . when it comes to discrimination.”
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