Ally Is a Verb
Written by Samantha Harnett, Chief Legal Officer, Logitech
It’s June, that time of year when many of us don our rainbow flag t-shirts, stake out prime spots at local Pride parades, and select the perfect tracks for our Pride party playlists. It’s also a time to remember that Pride is much more than parties and rainbows. It’s a celebration of hard-won queer joy and visibility, and a protest against the forces still working to dehumanize the LGBTQ community and deny them fundamental human rights.
For me, as the proud mom of a trans daughter, Pride month is a reminder to take stock of my role as an ally and ask whether I am truly doing all I can to create a world where my daughter and other trans kids can grow up with the same rights that the rest of us take for granted. And one thing I know for sure is that to be an ally requires more than the occasional social media “like” and a rainbow flag. To be an ally is to take action; to vote, to volunteer and perhaps most importantly to speak up–especially when it’s uncomfortable, when your voice wavers and your knees shake (mine sometimes still do).
This principle of active allyship holds true both for people and the companies where many of us work. In 2022, Logitech launched a partnership with GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. Logitech’s partnership with GLAAD focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ representation and technology. Recently, I joined many of my Logitech colleagues and Blair Durkee, Associate Director of GLAAD Gaming as she shared the groundbreaking results of GLAAD’s inaugural Gaming Report, which Logitech sponsored.
The groundbreaking report revealed that LGBTQ people are a large and enthusiastic part of the gaming community (1 in 5 active gamers is LGBTQ) and yet, are all but absent from gaming content (less than 2% of gaming content includes LGBTQ stories). While these stats don’t surprise me – the mom of an LGBTQ gamer who joyfully shares each rare instance of LGBTQ and gender expansive content she comes across – the report sent shockwaves through the industry. By taking action, in partnership with GLAAD, we are mobilizing some of the largest players in gaming. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s smart business to create content relevant to people who make up 20% (and quickly growing) of your audience.
Blazing the trail for representation in gaming is just one example of Logitech’s active allyship. We spoke up to support marriage equality in Switzerland. In the US, we joined 300+ companies like Microsoft, Sony and General Motors to publicly oppose the onslaught of state laws undermining the rights of LGBTQ people, and in 2023 we joined a coalition of businesses condemning extremist threats against companies celebrating Pride. At Logitech, we actively live our value of equality by standing vocally and consistently with LGBTQ people everywhere.
As we celebrate Pride 2024, the human rights of the LGBTQ community are under attack. Over 65 countries criminalize LGBTQ relationships between consenting adults, and last year in the US over 500 laws targeting LGBTQ people were proposed and nearly 100 were signed into law. I’ll be honest, I lose sleep over these numbers. I also know that action is far more effective than worry, and I am energized and proud to be part of a company that is an active ally 365 days a year. We have the power as people and as members of the corporate community to write the history that we want to be part of. Let’s celebrate Pride 2024 with action.
