Karoline Ravanelli, Director of Communications, CPRS Vancouver
Every year, Pride Season brings a wave of colourful logos, social media campaigns, community events, and public statements of support from organizations across Canada.
Many of these efforts are meaningful. They help raise awareness, celebrate the contributions of LGBTQIA2S+ communities, and create opportunities for connection and education. Others, however, can leave audiences wondering whether the support extends beyond a few weeks on the calendar.
As communicators, Pride Season offers an opportunity to reflect not only on what we say, but also on how we engage with the communities we seek to support.
As someone who has worked in communications across government, higher education, aviation, and now consulting, I've often found that the most valuable lessons don't come from campaigns themselves. They come from the conversations we have, the communities we listen to, and the choices we make every day about whose stories get told and how they are represented.
While there is no single formula for inclusive communications, there are a few questions worth considering as organizations plan campaigns, events, partnerships, and internal initiatives this season.
1. Are we showing up only when it's visible?
Visibility matters. Representation matters. Public support matters.
However, audiences are increasingly looking beyond seasonal campaigns and asking a broader question: what does support look like during the other eleven months of the year?
For communications professionals, this can be an opportunity to think beyond one-off campaigns and consider how inclusion is reflected across organizational storytelling, partnerships, recruitment efforts, community engagement, and corporate communications throughout the year.
It can also be an opportunity to review some of the everyday tools we use. For example, how representative are the images featured on your website, social media channels, recruitment materials, annual reports, or marketing campaigns?
Many organizations still rely heavily on stock photography that presents a narrow view of identity, relationships, and communities. Exploring more diverse image libraries can help communicators better reflect the audiences they serve and move beyond traditional representations.
Resources such as Nappy , which features authentic photography celebrating Black and Brown communities, including queer individuals and families, and the Gender Spectrum Collection, a collaboration between Vice and Gender Spectrum showcasing transgender and non-binary people in everyday life, can be valuable additions to a communicator's toolkit.
This is a practice I've tried to incorporate throughout my career. While working at Global Affairs Canada, I often looked for opportunities to use more diverse imagery in the campaigns and communications initiatives I supported. Today, I try to bring the same mindset to the work I do with clients whenever possible.
The goal isn't to force diversity into every piece of content. It's to recognize that diversity already exists in our communities, workplaces, and audiences. LGBTQIA2S+ people work in aviation, agriculture, technology, government, academia, healthcare, public transportation, tourism, and countless other industries. Authentic representation isn't about creating a special category of content. It's about ensuring that the people featured in our stories reflect the reality of the world around us.
Sometimes inclusion isn't about saying more. It's about paying attention to who is already there and making sure they can see themselves represented.
Authenticity is difficult to manufacture and easy to recognize. The strongest communications efforts are often supported by meaningful actions, long-term commitments, and genuine relationships.
2. Who is shaping the story?
One of the most common pitfalls in communications is assuming we can speak for a community without first listening to it.
Inclusive communications begins long before a campaign is launched or content is published. It starts with conversations, collaboration, and creating opportunities for communities to contribute to the narratives being shared.
Throughout my career, some of the strongest campaigns I've worked on have been shaped by people willing to challenge assumptions, share their lived experiences, and point out blind spots that I simply couldn't see on my own. Those conversations aren't always comfortable, but they almost always lead to better communications.
Whether that means consulting employee resource groups, collaborating with community organizations, engaging subject matter experts, or inviting lived experiences into the planning process, involving people in the conversation often leads to stronger, more authentic communications outcomes.
As communicators, we are often tasked with telling stories. Pride Season serves as a valuable reminder that the most effective storytelling frequently begins with listening.
Consider a communications campaign focused on women's health.
A team may begin with the best intentions and develop messaging around topics such as menstrual health, reproductive health, or menopause. But who was consulted during the planning process?
Were lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and non-binary individuals invited into the conversation? Were organizations that support these communities consulted? Were potential barriers to accessing health information or services considered?
Asking these questions early can help communicators identify gaps, avoid assumptions, and develop campaigns that better reflect the experiences of the people they are trying to reach.
In many cases, inclusion isn't about rewriting an entire campaign. It's about expanding the conversation and making sure the people affected by an issue have an opportunity to help shape the story.
For teams looking to strengthen their understanding of inclusive language and representation, resources such as Egale Canada's toolkits and guides, the GLAAD Media Reference Guide, and educational materials from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion offer practical guidance that can support more thoughtful communications planning throughout the year.
3. What happens after Pride Season ends?
Pride events, campaigns, and celebrations can create important moments of visibility and engagement. But lasting trust is rarely built through a single campaign.
The strongest communications strategies focus on building relationships rather than simply generating awareness.
This may mean maintaining partnerships with community organizations beyond Pride Season, continuing internal conversations about inclusion, supporting employee initiatives, creating opportunities to elevate diverse voices throughout the year, or ensuring that diverse perspectives are reflected in everyday communications.
I've seen organizations make meaningful progress not because they launched a perfect campaign, but because they showed up consistently, listened, learned, and kept the conversation going after the spotlight moved elsewhere.
For many organizations, the most meaningful work happens after the campaign ends.
The question is not whether your organization participates in Pride Season. The question is what happens when Pride Season is over.
Pride Season in Vancouver
Here in Metro Vancouver, Pride Season stretches well beyond a single weekend. Community events, educational initiatives, cultural programming, and celebrations begin in June and continue throughout the summer, culminating with the Vancouver Pride Festival and Parade in August.
For communicators, it's also an opportunity to learn from the organizations, community leaders, artists, volunteers, and advocates helping shape these conversations every day. Whether you're attending events, supporting community initiatives, reviewing your communications practices, or simply taking time to listen and learn, Pride Season offers a chance to reflect on how we can build more inclusive communities both within and beyond our workplaces.
A final reminder
For many communications professionals, particularly those working in non-profits, advocacy organizations, and community spaces, Pride Season can also be a demanding time of year.
Balancing campaigns, events, community expectations, stakeholder engagement, and rapidly evolving conversations requires significant energy and care.
As we support our organizations and communities, it is equally important to take care of ourselves.
I've been reminded of that myself while writing this piece. In a profession that often asks us to be constantly connected, responsive, and engaged, creating space to rest is sometimes easier said than done.
Take a break when you need one. Recognize that not everything is within your control. Create space to recharge and reconnect.
The work matters. But so do the people doing it.
Wishing everyone a meaningful, safe, and inspiring Pride Season.