Why Events like the International Day of Pink matter in Higher Ed

Posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2021

International Day of Pink on April 14 is when people around the world wear a pink shirt to stand against bullying and support 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion. March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, when people focus on the discrimination faced by people in the trans community and celebrate their accomplishments. November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we memorialize those who have been killed as a result of transphobia and hate. And in late August in Ottawa, Pride Week is celebrated across the city.

It’s wonderful if you already acknowledge one or all of these dates, but what matters even more is what you do and say in your everyday interactions. The choices you make in life to be a force for positive change and learning are critically important: Some people will choose to stand in solidarity as allies in big ways, such as campaigning for legislative change or marching in the streets; some people will choose simply to put on a pink shirt and signal to others that they are welcome in all the spaces where we work and live.

At Algonquin College, we are training our staff, faculty and leaders to become champions in choosing to interrupt the kind of bullying that can be subtle, but tells people they don’t belong. Microaggressions are a casual degradation of members of a marginalized group, and communicate inferiority, outsider status, and that marginalized individuals do not belong. They occur when a colleague is introduced as a “new gay faculty member,” for example, or when someone asks curiously about a trans colleague’s surgeries or “real name” over lunch.

These are the microaggressions we are likely to see and experience in the workplace, not schoolyard taunting or name-calling. To combat this, Algonquin is developing Inclusion Champions. They are trained to recognize when hurt has been done to another (often unintentionally), empowered to explain with empathy why the comment or behaviour was hurtful, and have the responsibility to invite reflection and positive change. Inclusion Champions don’t stand by and normalize or minimize bias, nor do they blame or shame. Through direct, concerned conversation they foster learning and growth in keeping with our mission as an educational institution dedicated to learning and growth. By creating spaces where people feel they have value, and altering the conversation from one of aggression to compassion, we are committed to making Algonquin College a place where everyone belongs.

Our College would be proud to inspire other institutions to adopt some of our tactics for 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion. Here are a couple suggestions:

  • Consider going beyond a basic Inclusion & Diversity Awareness training to add a workshop on building skills to become Inclusion Champions based on active bystander principles;

  • Consider becoming active members of organizations like Pride at Work Canada who support transformation of spaces to become inclusive regardless of gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation;

  • On days like Day of Pink or during Pride month, issue custom ‘zoom backgrounds’ linked to informative communiques that encourage allies to demonstrate their support and invite honest dialogue about the importance of the day with curious learners and colleagues.

Days like Day of Pink are so important because they are opportunities for everyone to publicly support inclusion and interrupt the bullying that impacts all equity-deserving groups. When we support and act as allies with the 2LGBTQ+ community, we are making our campuses, workplaces, and communities the best places to learn, live and work for us all – because everyone has a sexual orientation and everyone has a gender. No one should be made to feel harmed, intimidated, or coerced because of who they are.


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