Rainbow Washing: How To Spot It, How To Avoid It
Have you heard of ‘rainbow washing’, but are not sure what it means or how to spot it?
Jackafal is here to untangle the term, and give you some handy tips on how to spot it, and how to avoid doing it within your organisation.
What is ‘rainbow washing’?
Rainbow washing is when an organisation seems like they support the LGBTQ+ community given their marketing and social media, but in reality their approach and practices don’t line up with the image they are portraying. An example of this is when companies change their logo to rainbow for Pride Month (June), but have no other commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives (or in some cases, even actively discriminate against LGBTQ+ staff).
Are there other forms of ‘washing’?
Absolutely! The suffix ‘washing’ refers to tokenistically appearing to align to certain values or support a certain community, and the beginning of the word can change. Some common forms of ‘washing’ related to different social causes or identities are:
Greenwashing: Environmental issues
Gender washing: Gender
Pinkwashing: Sometimes used in place of rainbow-washing or gender washing (check the context for clues)
Race washing: Race
Social washing or woke washing: Any social cause
Is every organisation with a rainbow logo ‘rainbow washing’?
Not necessarily. Having a rainbow logo can mean a great, visible display of support for the LGBTQ+ community, and many companies back this up with tangible steps to support their own staff or the wider community. It’s also true to say that companies that openly discriminate against LGBTQ+ people wouldn’t use this logo, so it can be a good litmus test for where is a ‘safe space’ for queer people.
That said, some companies use it as a marketing strategy rather than an actual commitment to change. Their tactic is to ‘seem’ to appeal to an LGBTQ+ client base, but in reality, they are using the imagery purely to try and gain more customers and have no real strategy in place to support the queer community.
Signs that an organisation might be rainbow washing
As a consumer, it can sometimes be hard to spot what’s genuine support and what is rainbow washing. Some signs to look out for are:
Claiming to support the LGBTQ+ community, but also donating money to movements or organisations aiming to reduce LGBTQ+ rights
Marketing strategies that capitalise on the LGBTQ+ community, but do not give anything back to the community (for example, a Pride-themed range of products, but there are no links or donations to queer organisations)
No mention of the LGBTQ+ community anywhere on their website or social media except for Pride Month
Things you can do to avoid rainbow-washing in your organisation
Want to post for Pride month or LGBTQ+ History Month, but avoid rainbow washing? Here are some handy tips.
For every statement, take an action: Every time you publicly make a statement talking about your support of the LGBTQ+ community, ask yourself what tangible actions you’ve taken to do this. If there aren’t any, rethink your claim; if your statement doesn’t come with action, it’s going to seem hollow.
Don’t only post at Pride: Of course, the majority of posts on the topic of LGBTQ+ rights will be written and shared during Pride or LGBTQ+ History Month, but if the only time your brand mentions LGBTQ+ issues is during awareness months, it suggests that maybe you have some work to do on developing a good inclusion strategy.
Promote inclusion in your own workplace: If you’re doing a great job of being inclusive to your LGBTQ+ customers, but neglecting to include the LGBTQ+ people in your own workplace, you could seem to be tokenistic in your approach. Make sure you consider LGBTQ+ people within and outside the organisation in your planning.
Put your money where your mouth is: Lots of organisations donate to charities and Pride parades, but you don’t have to be a huge, massively profitable organisation to support the LGBTQ+ community financially. Ensuring that you work with suppliers and contractors who also support the LGBTQ+ community (or are even a part of it themselves) can be a great way to support queer rights. Failing that, a good old-fashioned bake sale in the office can be a great way to make some money for the LGBTQ+ community.
Want to improve LGBTQ+ inclusion in your organisation, and make sure that what you’re doing has real lasting change all year round? Why not check out our workshop, Proud In The Workplace, facilitated by Madelaine Jones, or else contact us to see what else we can do to help you.
