Pride Month: How Cultivator infuses INCLUSION throughout the year

Pride Month is celebrated globally to embrace diversity, equality, and acceptance of people in the LGBTQ2S+ community. A long line of history stands behind the pride celebrations that have taken place in recent years. Cultivator strives to educate and raise awareness to support everyone in the LGBTQ2S+ community. Growth is always encouraged here at Cultivator, which is why we are determined to provide meaningful content to the community. We are fortunate to showcase inclusion in tech through mentorship sessions on some of our largest stages.

In 2021, Cultivator hosted the ‘“Becoming an Inclusion Trailblazer’ session at Sask Startup Summit. Startup Summit is a two-day event that connects founders, mentors, and investors from across North America through curated 1:1 sessions, keynote speakers, and panel discussions, providing founders with tactical takeaways they can use to grow and scale their startup. The inclusion session was led by Wanda Hunchack, Executive VP of Westcap, Seth Stover, Co-Founder of TideRise, and Danielle Steer, Founding Executive Director of Lunar Startups.

Within the session, Seth Stover shared a valuable strategy to enhance awareness around inclusion in the workplace: “I asked myself the question, ‘what do my biases look like’ – by reflecting on these biases that may have been formed while working for a fully exclusive executive team for 8 years, I was able to evaluate my pattern of thinking and internally suggest mindful changes.” As leaders for their companies, Seth and Danielle reiterated that inclusive change starts within the network that you build and the people you surround yourself with.

In an effort to promote and expand diversity, equity, and inclusion within businesses, more questions were raised after the panel about personal pronouns. The panel sparked a conversation between members at Cultivator. The use of proper pronouns demonstrates respect and inclusion; pronouns are an important part of a person’s identity and therefore contribute to company culture. Use “they or their” wherever possible, as opposed to “his or her” to include people who may not identify with the pronouns his or her. The panelists discussed how the use of similar practices within their company network has created positive change.

The conversations around inclusion are incredibly valuable within the tech atmosphere and the community. Cultivator is dedicated to a journey of growth for itself and its members throughout the year.