Taking Pride

To commemorate the start of Pride Month, I recently had the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one conversation with Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). This fireside chat was attended by Target team members who were able to join the virtual discussion, ask questions and truly be in community with one another.

Leading and participating in this type of event is truly a highlight of my role at Target. I walk away from every conversation learning something new or hearing something that expands my perspective, which I take to heart and apply to my professional and personal life. This discussion was no exception.

Since my conversation with Alphonso, I’ve continued to think about his words of advice – “if you start with humanity, it will never steer you wrong.”

A significant part of my work in diversity, equity and inclusion is focused on tracking goals and benchmarking to ensure accountability. And behind every data point, we cannot forget it represents people who each have unique stories, aspirations, and challenges.

That’s why I also was moved by Alphonso’s call to action during our discussion to shift our mindset from being allies to that of being an advocate. It’s not enough to say “I support you” – we need to put in the work as well so it doesn’t all fall on the shoulders of the people who need help.

So while Pride celebrations may look a little different this year due to the pandemic, we at Target are doing our part to be advocates for change by recognizing the contributions members of the LGBTQIA+ community have on our society. We’re hosting internal events to support and lift up the voices of our LGBTQIA+ team members and creating learning moments to help create more advocates for the community. We’re also supporting LGBTQIA+ organizations such as GLSEN and expanding our Pride assortment to every store in the country.

More importantly, we will continue to be champions for our LGBTQIA+ team members and guests – not simply during Pride Month but as their advocates all year long – to ensure we’re starting with humanity first.