Happy LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! ❤️

It's finally one of our favorite times of the year — Pride Month! 🌈

As many of you know, every year in June*, many countries around the world celebrate the diverse spectrum of LGBTQIA+ individuals and the great strides and sacrifices they have made throughout history to be seen, heard, respected, and safe to live life authentically. Many of our friends, family members, mentors, colleagues, and role models are members of the LGBTQIA+ community — many of you here on DEV are as well!

This month and always, we honor and celebrate alongside you.

You also might remember that in previous years, we have celebrated Pride Month by collecting stories from our LGBTQIA+ community members. We're continuing this tradition in 2021 with an added focus on amplifying organizations already doing important work with and for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Read on to find out how you can celebrate Pride Month with us...

Pride Month at DEV

1. Share Your Story & Hear From Others

If you identify as an LGBTQIA+ individual and you'd like to share your experience as a person in software development, we'd love to hear from you. This template is here to use as a jumping-off point, but please feel free to start from scratch if you prefer! Just remember to use the tag #devpride so we can find (and share!) your post easily. When you're done, we'd love if you could drop the link to your post in the comments below (hint: use the DEV post liquid tag to embed your work) ❤️

If you are an ally, we encourage you to keep an eye on this tag throughout the month and learn more about the experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community members here on DEV.

2. Learn About LGBTQIA+ Organizations Doing Amazing Work

We also wanted to make some space in this year's Pride Month celebration to recognize several organizations doing fantastic work with and for LGBTQIA+ folks in tech.

Here is a list of tech-focused LGBTQIA+ organizations we respect — and a bit about how they are celebrating Pride Month.

Out in Tech

is a nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting the LGBTQIA+ tech community by creating opportunities for members to advance their careers, grow their networks, and use technology for good. They place a unique emphasis on kindness, knowledge, belonging, and joy.

In honor of Pride Month, Out in Tech is hosting "Out in Tech Pride" — an event focused on building equity in tech through courage and conviction. They will be celebrating some of their favorite LGBTQIA+ and allied tech leaders across streaming, retail, fintech, and other industries.

>>Learn more about Out in Tech's Pride celebration here

Lesbians Who Tech & Allies

is a community of LGBTQIA+ women, non-binary, and trans individuals in technology. Their goals are to become more visible to and connected with one another and encourage more women, queer folks, trans individuals, and Black and Brown people to join the tech field. Lesbians Who Tech welcomes allies to join and support their organization, too!

In celebration of Pride Month, Lesbians Who Tech & Allies is hosting "(Not IRL) Pride Summit" — a 5-day virtual event focused on enhancing their leadership and technical skills and discussing ways we can do better as global citizens fighting oppression.

>>Learn more about Lesbians Who Tech & Allies' Pride Summit here

Start Out

is a nonprofit dedicated to growing the number of LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs in tech and other fields, while increasing their diversity, impact, and empowerment.

Start Out has many events throughout the year. For Pride Month, the organization is hosting a "Wine Down Wednesday'' event on June 30th — a Pride-themed virtual networking opportunity for LGBTQIA+ founders and innovators.

>>Learn more about Start Out's “Wine Down Wednesday (Pride-Edition)” Event here

Trans Tech Social Enterprises

is an incubator for LGBTQIA+ talent. TransTech's work is dedicated to empowering trans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people and allies with practical, career-ready skills and economic empowerment. Its members have access to a vibrant digital community, training series, and co-working spaces in Chicago, Illinois.

>>In honor of Pride Month, we invite you to explore TTSE’s on-demand training options

Feel free to comment with any other meetups, groups, networks, and/or organizations focused on making technology more friendly and accessible for LGBTQIA+ folks. You can also create a DEV Listing to broadcast any events that you or your company/organization are hosting and embed them in this thread.

A very happy Pride Month to all! In the comments below, we'd love if you shared...

• Links to your Pride stories (– don’t forget to use the DEV post liquid tag!)
• Any other LGBTQIA+ organizations we should know about
• Links to Pride Month/LGBTQIA+ DEV Listings for events/initiatives you or your company/organization are hosting
• Any other thoughts you have about this important global celebration

*We would also like to acknowledge that while Pride Month does take place in June for a host of countries, many celebrate it during other months of the year. We learned so much about when and how different countries and regions celebrate Pride from this calendar. Check it out!

Here's to LGBTQIA+ Pride 💜