June 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City, a moment often cited as the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States. In the spirit of those events, we continue the march forward to start new dialogues, create understanding and expand protections of LGBTQ+ people in the workplace and beyond.
Prior to 1991, members of 3M’s St. Paul LGBTQ+ community met in secret off campus in fear of the professional repercussions for being out at work. Now we celebrate our recognition as one of the best places to work for LGBTQ equality for the 8th year in a row and 23 years participating in the Twin Cities Pride parade.
In fact, this is our 8th consecutive year of scoring 100% on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, distinguishing 3M as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”
Employee Pride Around the World
For Fuzz Hussain, who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, one of the biggest reasons for coming to 3M after his Strategic Marketing and Development internship was the accepting culture and feeling of support he had at the company.
“The crowning highlight that I recall from my internship was marching side by side in the Pride parade with 3M Vice Presidents, while handing out our products to tens of thousands of Minnesotans who were ecstatic to see 3M showing its support of the LGBTQ+ community,” says Fuzz, now the Chair of the 3M Pride Employee Resource Network.
This June, Fuzz and 3M Pride are excited to invite the LGBTQ+ community, their families and allies to Pride Month activities at 3M and across the Twin Cities.
“We're seeing a groundswell of engagement with allies and LGBTQ+ employees throughout the company,” says Fuzz, “including record turnouts for 3M Pride’s General Assembly and ally training events.”
This engagement stretches beyond the U.S., too. Marcos Sgarbi, leader of the LGBT+ Affinity Group at 3M Brazil, says that Pride month is very iconic there and is excited about their plans to spread awareness of their cause: “Pride is an opportunity to reinforce the importance of a safe, respectful and healthy workplace for all. This year, in addition to an internal communication plan for all six 3M sites with banners, posters, internal TV, emails about the theme and a special lunch in the cafeteria, we want to focus on the importance of the ally’s role. We will deliver flyers at the entrance of the shifts to all employees explaining the role of the ally and how they can be a transforming agent in their workplace or in their teams. The members of the group will receive a special lanyard with the LGBT flag and the allies will receive a pin to attach to their lanyard for easier identification. We hope that these actions will broaden the discussion and contribute to the construction of a more diverse and respectful workplace.”
“I’m inspired to see so many 3Mers creating safe spaces across the globe,” says Fuzz. “It means everyone can feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work.”
For more information on 3M’s Employee Resource Networks, including 3M Pride, check out our Diversity and Inclusion page.
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