What are heritage months?

Heritage months are nationally recognized celebrations designed to acknowledge historically marginalized groups. These months acknowledge not only each group’s history but also their contributions to American society.

While heritage months mainly acknowledge ethnicity, they may extend to other groups historically deprived of rights or privileges. These celebrations include:

• February: Black History Month
• March: Women’s History Month
• April: Arab American Heritage Month
• May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• June: LGBTQ+ Pride Month
• July: Disability Pride Month
• September: Hispanic HeritageMonth
• November: Native American Heritage Month

Heritage months—and other celebratory months, like those dedicated to LGBTQ+ and disability pride—have their place in the professional world. Many companies use them to show their support for historically marginalized groups. When done effectively, this can be an excellent way to promote workplace inclusion.

Heritage months may be a sensitive subject for some companies to navigate. Acknowledgment that appears disingenuous can damage a reputation.Investing in education and focusing on communities within your organization can help you plan an honest celebration.

Why heritage months matter

Celebrating heritage months can have numerous benefits. One of the biggest is the promotion of workplace inclusion. Many companies have already recognized the advantages of building diverse teams. Not only can diversity encourage innovation and productivity, but it can also boost profitability and job satisfaction. But to be effective, diversity should extend beyond the hiring phase.

This is where inclusion comes in. A truly inclusive workplace uses its diversity to create a fair and respectful community for all employees. Without it, employers may risk falling into tokenism. Showing employees that they belong and promoting equality can both drive inclusion, but so can celebrating their differences.

By celebrating the diversity of your team members, you can help them feel truly included and valued by the team. In turn, this can help lead to increased job satisfaction and engagement.

How to celebrate heritage months

As an employer, there’s a lot you can do to celebrate diversity months. Whether making donations or simply fostering conversation, earnest acknowledgment of each month can show employees your dedication to inclusion.

Here are some tips for heritage month celebrations you might consider trying with your team.

Acknowledge the month in full

Diversity months are extensive in length for a reason—to celebrate the rich history and contributions made by historically marginalized groups. Month-long acknowledgment of each group can provide you with the chance to show your recognition effectively.

Consider observing each month in more ways than one. Social media posts are a great way to celebrate and share your company’s commitment to inclusivity on a larger scale, but you might also consider taking steps to celebrate each month within your company as well. If you choose to acknowledge a heritage month, consider spreading your celebration throughout the month.

Encourage conversation

Establishing a dialogue with your employees may be one of the simpler ways to observe heritage months. In some cases, employees may feel uncomfortable broaching the subject, even if they are interested in deepening their understanding. As an employer, you can consider initiating these conversations yourself.

As your team engages in dialogues surrounding diversity months, you may want to remind them of the importance of being respectful and open-minded. As you discuss, listening actively can set a good example for your employees. Creating a positive work environment can help show employees that your company is a safe space, which may give them the courage and confidence they need to share. Knowing their thoughts are safe may also encourage others to ask questions that can provide a new perspective.

Provide learning opportunities

Open conversations can promote healthy dialogues about heritage and background. Consider taking this one step further by providing employees with learning opportunities.

Consider hosting seminars or panels dedicated to diversity and inclusion. These can provide a place for employees to discover and ask questions. One benefit of hosting professionals with a background in workplace diversity is that they will likely enter your company without any pre-existing ideas about your employees. This helps ensure that such learning opportunities are free from bias.

Beyond celebrating heritage months, growth opportunities are a good way to promote employee development. This has the added benefit of potentially improving productivity and strengthening job satisfaction overall.

Make a donation

Making a donation is a clear way to show your support for historically marginalized groups. Depending on your type of business, this can mean donating a percentage of your monthly profit or pledging your recurring support.

You might get your team involved by asking for input. Consider polling your team to determine which organization you’d like to support. This can also be a good time to get involved with your community—choosing a local organization can help show your support for causes close to home.

Accept feedback

Giving your employees a voice is one way to include them in your observation. Encourage team members to offer feedback on your heritage month celebrations. Doing so can give you a unique glimpse into your company’s culture and help you assess just how effective your recognition strategies are.

Pay close attention to feedback from employees who belong to minority groups, as your observation of each month may affect them more strongly than others. In many cases, they may offer insight that can deepen your understanding and strengthen your policies. Empowering them to use their voice within your organization is also another way to build inclusion.

Prioritize inclusion all year long

Showing your support for marginalized groups during heritage months is good practice overall. But that doesn’t mean these groups should be forgotten as soon as the month is over. Companies who reserve their recognition for certain times of year may tend to seem disingenuous, even if they mean well.

You can avoid this by prioritizing diversity and inclusion all year long. This can mean adding diversity to your company’s core values or changing your hiring practices to eliminate unconscious bias. There are countless ways to make your workplace more inclusive. Making the effort shows your employees that your support is genuine.