Don't Do That!

Performative or Purposeful? Rethinking Workplace Heritage Celebrations

Episode Summary

We’re unpacking cultural heritage months—those calendar moments like Black History Month, Pride, Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month (and so many more). Should we still be celebrating these at work? When done right, they can create belonging, visibility, and accountability. When done wrong, they can feel hollow, obligatory, or even harmful.

Episode Notes

This time, we’re unpacking cultural heritage months—those calendar moments like Black History Month, Pride, Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month (and so many more). Should we still be celebrating these at work? When done right, they can create belonging, visibility, and accountability. When done wrong, they can feel hollow, obligatory, or even harmful.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The history and intention behind heritage months—and how they’ve evolved
• Why people still celebrate them, especially in the workplace
• The pros (and pitfalls) of heritage month programming
• How to know if your organization is showing up authentically—or just doing damage control
• What great looks like: examples that uplift, educate, and connect

Some key takeaways are:

• Heritage months aren’t the problem. It’s all about execution.
• These months should be mirrors and windows: mirrors for employees to feel seen, and windows into your org’s values.
• Don’t celebrate culture once a year. Bake it into your values, policies, and everyday decisions.
• Let your team lead, but give them real support—visibility, budget, buy-in.
• Do it with intention. Skip the checklist energy and aim for impact

Resources:

• News coverage on Target’s Pride merchandise controversy (2023–2025)
• The legacy of Carter G. Woodson and the origin of African American History Month
• Examples from Patagonia and Yelp that show what doing it well looks like

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