PRIDE In The Tech Industry | Digital Pride In 2021

There’s always been a concern about the lack of diversity in many industries. However, as time continues – the tech industry has continued to celebrate Pride month year upon year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to participate in Pride month digitally. Therefore, you can find many pride events online, including Zoom calls, social media live streams, and so much more!

Various companies have leaders that are a part of the LGBTQ2S+ community. They started organizations such as Transtech Social Enterprises, Lesbians Who Tech, and StartOut which were born out of the need to improve LGBTQ2S+ culture in offices.

They’ve helped start and facilitate these much-needed conversations, also added more recourses to the queer tech community.

Nonetheless, despite the growing diversity in the tech industry, there’s still a massive need to celebrate Pride month and promote Pride representation worldwide. Gay marriage is only legal in 30 countries, and struggles for LGBTQ2S+ equality continue.

Learn + Support: Here are some excellent pages to follow for Pride month

• lgbt_history Instagram page

Instagram is an incredibly popular form of social media, as you probably already know. However, it’s also a superb place to follow and support pages that promote LGBTQ2S+ equality worldwide. The @lgbt_history page boasts over 700,000 Instagram followers and has posted pictures over 4,700 times.

Once you follow this page, you’ll find daily pictures of LGBTQ2S+ history, including information on some of the most important historical events. Furthermore, the page also leads to a bookshop, a blog, and videos of previous events.

A Washington-based couple – Leighton Brown and Matthew Reimer – started the page in November 2015 intending to provide researched content to the social media community.

• The Pride Official Instagram Page

The Pride community has its very own Instagram page, and it’s an excellent resource to follow and support. The page has 1.1 million followers and over 614 posts supporting Pride month.

Furthermore, the page offers followers various excellent pictures from all over the globe. You can support the page by following, sharing, and liking all the content. The page has multiple videos, interviews, and stories that educate followers on Pride month.

In addition, the page links to the podcast hosted by Levi Chambers, where you can listen to superb podcasts on various LGBTQ2S+ topics.

• Queer Bible

The London-based presenter, Jack Guinness, started the Queer Bible in 2017. He launched the project to create a database of gay characters who changed the planet through their art, performance, and activism.

The project showcases specially commissioned illustrations of online archive’s subjects, which LGBTQ2S+ writers elect. Jack Guinness stated in 2017 that LGBTQ2S+ people need to see positive role models, and that’s what inspired him to create this project.

Furthermore, Jack wanted to create a space where people can learn about the LGBTQ2S+ community and the people who started the move towards equality. The Instagram page currently has 23,000 followers and lots of superb content to like and share.

• Tan France’s Queer Icons Podcast

Tan France created a superb 8-part Audible Original podcast for the LGBTQ2S+ community. The podcast attracts queer icons from every world corner, including famous LGBTQ2S+ icons from the western world and beyond.

Moreover, the podcast focuses on crucial LGBTQ2S+ issues. These issues include trans rights, disabled queer stories, gender norms, black queer history, drag, and masculinity.

One of Tan’s most popular guests is Yoyo – a Malaysian-based punk rocker – who challenges her nation’s views of the LGBTQ2S+ community. The podcast aims to support and build the LGBTQ2S+ community, and it’s a fantastic podcast to share on social media and with friends or family.

Learn + Support: Here are 4 influential LGBTQ2S+ figures in the tech space.

Tim Cook – The CEO and Founder of Apple

If you’re looking for influential LGBTQ2S+ people in the technology industry, you’ll struggle to find someone more significant than Tim Cook. It’s fair to say that most people have used (or currently own) an Apple product. Popular products include the iPad, iPhone, and MacBooks.

However, when people think of Apple – they often think of Steve Jobs, the late founder and one of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs. But Tim Cook has played an incredible role in Apple’s growth. It is now worth some $2.08 trillion. The first company to pass the $2 trillion market cap.

Tim Cook decided to come out as gay in 2014, becoming the first tech CEO to openly admit to his sexuality. He is one of the world’s first business leaders to come out. Many people regard this as one of the greatest ever movements towards LGBTQ2S+ quality, and quite shockingly – he became the first leader of a Fortune 500 company to come out. Sadly, this shows that the business world has a long way to go towards accepting the LGBTQ2S+ community.

In recent years, Tim Cook has openly celebrated Pride month by releasing videos and articles. That includes a special video message on the 50th anniversary of Pride month.

Angelica Ross - The CEO and co-founder of TransTech Social Enterprises

Angelica Ross, didn't start her journey in tech the traditional way. She taught herself how to code, starting her journey in tech. But before she started TransTech Social Enterprises Angelica wore a couple of hats. Some of them included being a showgirl and military veteran.

After realizing she wasn't living her life to the fullest, Angelica started TransTech to help empower others like her to get into the tech space. As she has said before,At TransTech, we’ve created a space for trans people to come together, work together, laugh together, go to lunch together. There’s strength in numbers. They’re building networks, and down the line, they’ll think of each other when it comes to jobs.”

Now, Angelica has also expanded her career into Hollywood. Landing roles in a variety of shows like American Horror story.

Peter Thiel – The co-founder of PayPal

In today’s business world – especially a business world that’s becoming more digital – PayPal is an important way to complete business transactions. The company is worth over $300 billion and remains one of America’s most powerful tech companies.

The co-founder of Paypal, Peter Thiel, is openly gay and got married in 2017. The Paypal cofounder has been a long-time supporter of gay marriage, inclusion, and LGBTQ2S+ equality, often adding his support for the issue to political rallies in the U.S. On many of these political rallies, he claimed he is proud to be gay.”

In addition to Peter Thiel’s success as the co-founder of Paypal, he also was one of Facebook’s earliest investors, and the first outside investor. Peter’s net worth is estimated to be $6.36 billion in 2021, due to his vast investment portfolio in American tech companies.

These companies include Facebook, Clarium Capital, Founders Fund, Valar Ventures, and smaller yet successful technology companies. He remains one of America’s most prominent technology investors.

Arlan Hamilton - The CEO and co-founder of Backstage Capital

From $0 to over $15 million. Some 200-startup companies headed by underestimated founders have found funds to back their journey thanks to Arlan Hamilton. Hamilton started Backstage Capital while homeless and built the entire venture capital fund from scratch.

The fund was created with the intention to help reduce funding disparities in tech - supporting the LGBTQ2S+ community, people of color, and women.

For her achievements, Business Insider reported Hamilton in 2019 as one of the 23 most powerful LGBTQ2S+ people in tech. In 2018, she was also awarded by Fortune in their 40 under 40 category.

Recently, she published a book titled It's About Damn Time - detailing her journey and providing advice.

Final Thoughts

It's important to support pride every year.

But it’s especially important to support Pride month this year after 2020, where the pandemic canceled many Pride events. Thankfully, in 2021, there are many ways you can support Pride representation online!

We hope you found this post informative and provided you with a few additional resources to support pride 2021!