DTCB Embraces LGBTQI+ Persons In The Workplace By Chedza Mmolawa
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n 1969 disgruntled members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, & Intersex Life (LGBTQI+) community in New York City, America, marched into Stonewall Hotel and protested for Gay Rights. Their demonstration was cut short by hostile retaliation from the police, and as a result people were hurt that day. But their efforts and the protest were not in vain. Since that day, June, is considered Pride Month, when the world's LGBTQI+ communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves and remember the Stonewall uprising of 1969 that helped spark the modern gay rights movement. What happened in New York City 53 years ago is now celebrated in Botswana, after the country itself battled with gaining rights for the LGBTQI+ community in the country. And even though the progression of acceptance is slow, it is happening, and Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) has taken a lead in the inclusion and diversity of its LGBTQI+ employees in the workplace. June has become a global symbol of gay PRIDE month, and DTCB kickstarted the celebrations of the month by hosting an in-house educational seminar for its staff to educate them about creating safe and comfortable spaces for colleagues who are members of the LGBTQI+ community. Last year, DTCB started an initiative dubbed 'The Real You' network that seeks to educate its employees on the
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THE RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN | BUSINESS • COMMUNITY • IMPACT
