7 Ways Your Workplace Can Celebrate Wear it Purple Day - 25.08.23
We are so thrilled that so many organisations are making rainbow young people and Wear it Purple Day a fixture in your annual Pride calendars- thank you! By participating in Wear it Purple Day you are demonstrating to your employees, clients and wider network that you are committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in tangible and meaningful ways. For our long-term champions and our new supporters here are some ways that you can amplify your impact this year:
1. Wear it Purple
I mean this one probably goes without saying. It is the small thing that Wear it Purple was built on that makes such a huge difference. Speaking from experience, looking around a room as a queer person and seeing a sea of purple makes me feel supported, safe and happy. Everyone is invited to Wear it Purple, because it takes many hands to make an inclusive environment, and on this day wearing purple is your visible show of support.
2. Order a Wear it Purple Merch Pack:
Our Wear it Purple Workplace Packs are designed to help your organisation look the part on Wear it Purple Day. These packs include posters, wristbands, stickers and a tote (Here). This year, these items are adorned with our official annual theme “Write Your Story,” and beautiful artwork by young LGBTIQA+ Wukawe artist Lawson Dodd. Not only will they contribute to a vibrant and inclusive environment, but proceeds support our ability to send merch packs free to schools Australia-wide.
Plus, they are packed at the amazing coworking space Avenue Co, a day program aimed at creating accessible work and meaningful vocational and skills development for people with disabilities. If you want to go one step further, check out the other items in our store, maybe throw in some tshirts, lapel pins or our pride fan. You can also send us an email at contact@wearitpurple.org if you would like to explore discounted rates to kit out your whole office in purple tees (but be quick!).
3. Request a Wear it Purple Speaker:
Inviting a Wear it Purple speaker to be part of your event can give your employees a deeper understanding of what Wear it Purple is all about, as well as providing valuable insights and stories about why supporting LGBTIQA+ youth is so important. Our entire volunteer team at Wear it Purple, including our Youth Action Council, take time out of their busy work and life schedules around Wear it Purple day to come and support your events as volunteer speakers. here
We receive such glowing feedback from the workplaces our speakers attend, citing them as inspiring, informative, and engaging. Remember to request a speaker sooner rather than later and that when we do provide a volunteer speaker we ask that a donation is made in respect of their time, energy and to help support Wear it Purple.
4. Incorporate the Wear it Purple theme "Write Your Story":
Each year our amazing Youth Action Council chooses the theme for Wear it Purple day. This year’s theme “Write Your Story” was chosen to place emphasis on the importance of personal expression and individuality, and aims to promote visibility, community and acceptance.
You can read more about this year’s theme “Write Your Story” here.
Think about ways you can incorporate storytelling into your celebrations. Perhaps you can encourage your employees to reflect on their personal stories and experiences related to identity and acceptance, and provide platforms such as blog posts, internal newsletters, or even a dedicated space for employees to share their stories. It’s worth thinking about what processes and practices you can include to make sharing personal stories feel safe and enriching for participants. We encourage you to always acknowledge the long history of storytelling in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
5. Hold a Wear it Purple Day Event:
2023 Event Idea: This year as part of Wear it Purple’s official Wear it Purple Day event we are running a storytelling competition for LGBTIQA+ young people and their stories will be available through our website. Have a look through and find some that resonate with you to be screened in your workplace. These videos will be available on Friday 18th of August.
For many of you who have held a Wear it Purple Day before this is the first port of call, and our team has been lucky enough to attend a huge number of these events. Some things we have seen online and in person are: morning teas, panel discussions, lunch and learns, keynote speakers, trivia sessions, fireside chats and screenings. We encourage you to get creative too; how about a fashion show? Art exhibition? A new training program? Or an outing to an LGBTIQA+ owned business?
Check out our resources page too for more inspiration. My advice would just be to make sure that any event you run is amplified by meaningful conversation and ongoing culture change, which brings me to my next point…
6. Introduce or strengthen culture change initiatives for employees:
Wear it Purple Day may be one day of the year, but it’s also an opportunity to introduce or strengthen culture change initiatives that can influence your organisation year round. Here’s a few things you might consider:
Creating or investing more in an LGBTIQA+ Employee Resource Group
Evaluating your policies, practices, and benefits to ensure they are inclusive and supportive of LGBTQIA+ individuals (including gender neutral language!)
Providing adequate gender neutral bathrooms
Encouraging your workplace to take part in the Australian Workplace Equality Index
Developing a calendar to celebrate and promote key LGBTIQA+ events year-round
Employees feeling encouraged and supported to bring their whole selves to work contributes to wellbeing, satisfaction and often improved work outcomes. Think about the intersections of identity that may multiply challenges, discrimination, and barriers at work- and make these a priority!
7. Make a donation and/or sponsor a Wear it Purple project:
We are so grateful for your fundraising efforts as everything we do for LGBTIQA+ youth relies on donations, merchandise sales and sponsorship. Ready to take your support of LGBTIQA+ young people to the next level? Wear it Purple are currently seeking sponsors for a portfolio of exciting projects. Our priority as an organisation is making sure the majority of our spending goes directly to LGBTIQA+ young people. This is why we offer free school packs, three rounds of grant funding a year, prioritise LGBTQIA+ youth for paid contract work, and offer consistent development, coaching and training opportunities to our young volunteers. If strengthening a partnership with Wear it Purple is a possibility for your organisation we’d love to chat to you about which of our projects might be the best fit. Please shoot us an enquiry via the Become a Supporter page on our website.
Thank you again for your support of Wear it Purple, we are so pleased to get to celebrate with you every year and look forward to hearing about (and hopefully attending) your Wear it Purple Day events.
Quick links:
1. Wear it Purple - HOME
2. Order a Wear it Purple Merch Pack - STORE
3. Request a Wear it Purple Speaker - SPEAKER REQUEST
4. Incorporate the Wear it Purple theme "Write Your Story" - 2023 THEME
5. Hold a Wear it Purple Day Event - REGISTER YOUR EVENT
6. Introduce or strengthen culture change initiatives for employees - RESOURCES
7. Make a donation and/or sponsor a Wear it Purple project - BECOME A SUPPORTER