Book Now!Somewhere between the rainbow logos of June and the quiet return to “business as usual” in July, many workplaces miss the point of Pride altogether.
Pride isn’t just a celebration. It’s a reckoning. A remembering. A reminder that queer and trans people have always been here—building, working, leading, surviving. And yet, even in 2025, many still feel the need to shrink themselves in professional spaces to feel safe, to be taken seriously, to survive office politics that weren’t built with them in mind.
The reality is: creating an inclusive workplace takes more than a training module and a hashtag. It takes an unflinching look at identity, history, power, and—most importantly—what we’re willing to do differently.
Every single one of us brings our identity to work—whether we speak about it openly or not. Our gender, race, sexuality, culture, neurodiversity, ability… these are not things we can shed like a coat at the door. And yet, for many 2SLGBTQIAA+ employees, “professionalism” has long been code for assimilation.
True inclusion asks something different. It asks us to value difference, not erase it. It asks us to listen, even when it’s uncomfortable. It asks us to stop assuming that silence equals safety.
A sticker on your laptop or a rainbow in your bio isn’t the same as standing up when it counts. Allyship is action. It’s correcting a misgendering in a meeting. It’s challenging a biased comment when it would be easier to stay quiet. It’s doing the work to understand identities that aren’t your own—without expecting someone else to educate you on demand.
We don’t need perfection. We need effort. Curiosity. Accountability. And a willingness to fumble forward together.
The moments that make people feel welcome—or not—aren’t always big and dramatic. They’re the everyday details: the forms that only offer “Mr./Mrs.,” the jokes that go unchecked, the assumptions baked into our language and systems. But just as culture can exclude in subtle ways, it can also include with intention.
Inclusive culture doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when we choose it—over and over again.
That’s why we created Unpacking Pride: Understanding Identity, Allyship & Action. Not to check a box, but to open a door. To invite teams into a deeper, more compassionate understanding of what it means to show up for each other. To reflect on the past, map our identities, and practice inclusion in a real, embodied way.
Because Pride is not a party we throw once a year. It’s a commitment. A conversation. A chance to build a workplace where everyone belongs—and where no one has to hide who they are to do their best work.
Samantha Shakira Clarke is an established keynote speaker, psycho-somatic coach, and founder of SSC Corporate Wellness—an organization dedicated to bringing mindfulness, nervous system education, and trauma-informed leadership practices into workplaces across North America and beyond.
With a background as a high-performance athlete, television presenter, and long-time practitioner of yoga and somatics, Sammy has spent over a decade supporting individuals and teams in building healthier relationships with stress, leadership, and themselves.
Her approach bridges neuroscience, somatic psychology, and real-world application—offering sessions that are practical, engaging, and rooted in lived experience. She's worked with Fortune 500 companies, global tech firms, safety organizations, and youth advocacy centres, and is known for creating spaces that feel both human and impactful.
