The Benefits of Pride Lanyards for Your Workplace

Inclusivity should be a priority in any workplace or organisation and should be a huge part of workplace culture.

Businesses can now create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone through well thought out policies and symbolic gestures to help reinforce their values. This can be done in a variety of ways, and even the smallest of details can have a big impact.

Pride lanyards are becoming an increasingly important feature as they are easy for any business to adopt and can make a bold statement without huge financial implications.

In this article, We Print Lanyards explore the practical, cultural, and symbolic benefits of using Pride lanyards in your workplace.

What are Pride lanyards?

The Rainbow and Progress Pride flags have become synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community. Many businesses, schools, universities and public bodies are now incorporating these flags and colours into the lanyards that they wear to help signal inclusivity in their workplace.

Whilst they were originally created specifically for Pride events, they are increasingly being used all year round.

They have proved to be particularly popular as they can sometimes be personalised with things like logos, pronouns or affirming messages to help create an even more inclusive atmosphere.

Why Pride representation matters in the workplace

Showing visible LGBTQ+ support is incredibly important as a way of showing that your workplace is a safe and inclusive space for everyone that works within it.

It can help a range of employees to feel seen, valued and supported regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. It also plays a significant role in building trust among LGBTQ+ staff and has been shown to improve things like morale and retention rates.

A Pride lanyard might be thought of as a very small detail, but it can be a powerful step towards dismantling heteronormative workplace culture.

The practical benefits of Pride lanyards

Pride lanyards don't just offer symbolism; they also have a number of real-world business-friendly benefits. They are a great way to foster a positive brand perception not only with employees but also customers, clients and the wider community through this visual gesture.

They can help to showcase the values of your business during events, conferences and recruitment days and can be a key part in encouraging conversations around inclusion and allyship.

Pride lanyards have also made it much easier for people to identify allies or LGBTQ+ representatives. They can also boost staff engagement through inclusive merchandise and have proved to be an easy and low-cost way to promote diversity in the workplace.

Pride lanyards are also customisable, which means you can incorporate your company logos, QR codes or even messaging about any DEI policies that you have.

Promoting inclusion and allyship

Lanyards can also be part of a wider ally culture as they act as a visual reminder that there are allies present within the organisation. They can be used to support internal LGBTQ+ networks and employee resource groups by creating a culture where it is OK for all employees to openly show their support.

Pride lanyards can also be responsible for encouraging ongoing education on LGBTQ+ issues as the lanyard itself can help to spark conversations. Many organisations now provide optional pronoun badges and support wider DEI strategies by offering the lanyards alongside inclusion training.

Choosing the right lanyard for your business

When choosing a Pride lanyard for your business, you will need to consider whether you want to opt for the rainbow flag or Progress Pride flag for your design.

You can also consider a range of different customisation options including adding a logo, looking at the strap width and incorporating ID card holders and pronoun fields.

It is important to remember that quality matters. This is an item that is designed to be worn every single day, so durability counts just as much as the visual impact.

A Pride lanyard is a statement, so it is important that you make them optional choice and not mandatory. It is also important to remember that if they are worn all year round instead of just during Pride month in June, they will be seen as a company commitment rather than opportunistic virtue signalling.

Making Pride lanyards part of a wider DEI strategy

It is important to remember that a Pride lanyard can be a visible gesture, but it is not a complete solution. It is therefore best used as part of a broader diversity, equality and inclusivity strategy, which should incorporate training, inclusive policies, LGBTQ+ support groups and anonymous feedback systems.

You should remember to show your commitment through consistent actions rather than just symbols, and keep in mind that a Pride lanyard is just one of many gestures you can make. It is also essential to engage employees in the conversation around DEI strategies and ask for their input on inclusion.

Driving everyday visibility through wearable inclusion

The real benefit of Pride lanyards is their ability to make inclusion always visible. When they are worn by team members across departments, they will become a subtle but consistent reminder that equality consistently matters within your business.

These are more effective than posters or one-off campaigns as they are worn throughout the day, in meetings, at the front desk, during customer interactions and even at off-site events.

This is a form of visibility that has a much greater impact on workplace values, and their regular presence will help to normalise LGBTQ+ inclusion as part of the daily culture, instead of an occasional gesture.

When employees choose to wear Pride lanyards, it can signal a voluntary commitment to allyship or identity, which feels more authentic than corporate slogans.

This means that a small accessory can contribute to a workplace that allows people to feel comfortable being themselves and where their differences are not just accepted but visibly supported.

Pride lanyards can be an incredibly simple but effective way to promote inclusion within any business or organisation.

They help to reflect modern workplace values such as diversity, respect and visibility and whilst symbolic, they can have a lasting impact on things like the culture, morale and perception of the business. These are important tools in bigger conversations about belonging and allow your business to show that it stands for something.