What Pride Month means at Soar

June 9, 2021

Entering the GIS industry has thankfully been a smooth and welcoming process for me. In my relatively short time so far here at Soar, I’ve learned a lot about GIS, maps, and how we use satellite imagery to help shape our world. Before then, I honestly couldn’t have told you anything about GIS.As a social media coordinator at Soar, it’s my job to highlight our platform and share those highlights with people around the world. Using it myself and taking an interest in the artistic approach of maps has been a really fun journey.

Growing up as a minority of course had its challenges. Even still, I’m more fortunate than most marginalized groups around me. Coming to terms with who I was and what that meant for my life was (and continues to be) a long hard process. When coming out, I had to think of many things most people don’t have to. Will my family still be there? Will my friends support me? Will I be able to be myself at work?

There are still many countries where it’s legal to fire people in the workplace purely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. There aren’t always the protections in place for minorities that we have come to expect. Thankfully for me, Australia isn’t one of those places. I was pleased to hear pride month was celebrated long before I came aboard the company, and acceptance has been a priority since day one. I’m glad my questions were answered positively in the end. Sadly not everyone experiences the same privileges.
Even today, with marriage equality, increasing representation and a general higher acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community, we still face challenges. Homelessness in the LGBTQI+ community is still a major issue facing youth across the world. Looking back I had nothing to worry about, but when I was about to come out to my family I made sure to pack my bags and have a safe place to stay just in case. This is the reality for a lot of homes where parents kick their own children out for being gay. It’s a large part of the reason why so many homeless youths are LGBTQI+.- 43% of LGBTQI+ people are at high risk of suicide.
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- LGBTQI+ people are more than twice as likely to experience homelessness.
- Over 50% of LGBTQI+ youth experience anxiety & depression.

Soar will be donating to The Trevor Project to help take action against the issues LGBTQI+ youth face daily.

We highly encourage you to donate too — https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/330001/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=pride2021&c_src2=headerDonate

‍Most people see companies celebrate pride, with nothing more to show than a one-month-long rainbow logo. True support is shown year-round by keeping the promise of a safe and accepting working environment for LGBTQI+ employees and customers. Donating to make a real impact, and re-evaluating the workplace and its safety.

Regular check-ups and action on any discrimination that may take place in the workplace are necessary. An open discussion on how people feel.
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Re-evaluating signage around the workplace may help people feel more welcome (Example: Having a pride flag sticker on the door to the office, as a small sign).Do we actively seek marginalised groups for employment opportunities? Can any employee use the bathroom they best identify with?
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What steps of protection do we have in place to stop employees from getting harassed or abused? Will they feel safe enough to report it? Who does the reporting go to and how is it handled?

These are all questions we need to ask ourselves to ensure this support is genuine and tailored to a safe working environment ALL year-round for everyone.

“We always try hard to be welcome to all. I think having minorities is really important to get perspectives from all angles. It shapes Soar not only as an innovative, scalable start-up, but more importantly highlights what makes start-ups great, and products grow — people! People in all forms.” — Amir Farhand.

In this month of awareness and celebration, it’s important to look beyond the rainbows and instead look towards ourselves and our peers. Pride for me means I get to be myself at home, with friends, and in my workplace. Without judgment, without fear, with pride.

What does Pride Month mean to you?
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