Zoom party with colourful vackgrounds and AR filters.Pride means acceptance, community and belonging to me. It’s about recognizing, celebrating and honouring our differences. It is about inclusion, support, and love. Shining a light on discrimination and hate helps removes the shadows and call attention to the need for ongoing education and support.

It’s June 2020, and even though the INVIVO team is still working remotely, all week long we’ve been celebrating LGBTQ culture, with team events, by sharing stories, and by raising money for a number of important causes.

Diversity and inclusion are important to our organization: to work with cutting-edge technology and generate innovative strategies, diversity of experiences and the inclusion of different voices lend INVIVO perspectives a homogenous work-culture is unlikely to replicate. We 100% believe in Pride, welcoming everyone, and providing a safe space to be our authentic selves.

A quick rundown of this week’s events has included:

The INVIVO Pride schedule. M: history, T: trivia, W: drag competition, Th: party, F: sharing reflections

We’ve been sharing what Pride means to us individually on a virtual bulletin board; sharing and inspiring one another.

"Pride was born from protest for equality but now it unites us <3"

To me, pride means empowering the LGBTQ2+ community to effect change. It is a time to amplify their voices, listen to their experiences, and fight for their equity and justice. True allyship is more than declarations of solidarity—it is using our privilege to dismantle the systemic oppression this community faces day after day. So speak out about injustice. Continue to donate. Vote for lawmakers who are committed to equitable politics. To me, pride isn't just a month—it's 365 days a year.

Pride to me is the celebration of authenticity and the freedom to be yourself without any discrimination. It is about accepting and loving ALL human beings as they are.

"I think it's super cool to have the privilege to collaborate in a workplace which acknowledges the importance of queer visibility and actively celebrating, participating, raising awareness and using our opportunities to help others. "

We’ve played games, educated ourselves with LGBTQ trivia, competed in a 15-minute Drag Competition, and had a blast.

Images from the Drag competition. 15-minute Drag Competition!

Celebrating Pride helps to address the stigma, prejudice, high suicide rates for young people, discrimination, violence and hate crimes toward LGBTQ people. Pride is love and Pride is hope.

With that in mind, our team has also been raising money for local charities – we feel it’s important for us to support gay youth through issues of self-acceptance and dealing with the challenges of coming out. If you’d like to learn about these charities or offer a donation yourself, you can find them here.

To all of our friends, colleagues, and clients, HAPPY PRIDE!


Pic of Jamie

By Jamie Erickson, VP of Culture