Certified Proud is an Irish accreditation membership body that works towards LGBTQ+ equality across businesses in Ireland, ensuring the safety of staff and comfort of customers, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. Certified Proud’s mission is to transform the experiences of LGBTQ+ people across businesses in the UK and Ireland.
To join, you must agree to the Certified Proud Principles and pay an annual membership fee. In return, you will receive training and guidance on how to be visibly inclusive, equal and safe. Each year, Certified Proud will conduct an audit to ensure that the Certified Proud Principles are being adhered to; we want all of your employees, customers and the wider public to see that you are an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
Additionally, Certified Proud’s social enterprise model ensures that 40% of each membership fee will return to the LGBTQ+ community through our Certified Proud Fund. Each year, the Certified Proud Fund will open to LGBTQ+ charities, non-profit organisations and other projects. Through this, you can be sure the Certified Proud network is having the biggest social impact possible.
The support of businesses like JL Designs is paramount. Not only is there likely a larger cohort of LGBTQ+ people that are customers or suppliers, there is also more scope for your employees to be members of the community. Certified Proud would like to ensure that each and every stakeholder in your organisation knows that they are valued, heard and safe.
LGBTQ+ inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do; it leads to greater employee wellbeing, better productivity, and sales. This will not only help your colleagues feel safe, respected, and have a better quality of life but if you’re promoting LGBTQ+ awareness in a meaningful way throughout the year, you’re going to get more customers; 74% of LGBTQ+ people are more brand loyal to businesses that support LGBTQ+ issues, so it’s an easy yes!
Being proud isn’t just for Pride, and as today is the last day of Pride month 2021, we want people to remember that discrimination, violence and hate against the LGBTQ+ community still exists throughout Ireland.
If you’d like to learn how you can make equality a priority every month of the year, you can contact Certified Proud on eve@certifiedproud.com
