Pride Month Is Here — But Are Companies Truly Inclusive?
We Speak Gay: How Hannu Medina Is Challenging Performative Pride and Redefining LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Finland.
Hannu Medina, the founder of WE SPEAK GAY, Picture by ©Raul Medina
Every June, the same transformation happens across social media.
Corporate logos suddenly become rainbow-colored. Pride campaigns appear overnight. Brands publish polished messages about love, diversity, and inclusion. For 30 days, LGBTQ+ visibility becomes marketable.
But once Pride Month ends, many queer people are left asking the same uncomfortable question: What actually changed?
Hannu Medina
Behind the LGBTQ+ branding, many companies still lack LGBTQ+ education, inclusive communication policies, safe workplace cultures, or even basic understanding of queer experiences.
That disconnect between visibility and reality is exactly what inspired Hannu Medinato create We Speak Gay — a Finland-based global initiative helping companies, destinations, and brands move beyond performative Pride and into authentic LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Founded in 2018, We Speak Gay works with businesses, tourism destinations, restaurants, hotels, and organizations that are willing to publicly and actively commit to LGBTQ+ inclusive communication, representation, and accountability.
And according to Medina, visibility alone is not enough anymore.
“LGBTQ+ communication is not the same as equality communication.”
Beyond Rainbow Logos: The Problem With Seasonal Inclusion
For years, companies have faced criticism during Pride Month for what many activists call “rainbow capitalism” — publicly supporting LGBTQ+ communities while failing to create meaningful structural inclusion internally.
The criticism is often justified. Many brands celebrate Pride online while offering little to no LGBTQ+ education within their workplaces. Others publish inclusive campaigns during June but remain silent for the other 11 months of the year.
According to Medina, the biggest issue is not visibility itself — it is the lack of consistency behind it.
That means inclusion cannot stop at marketing campaigns.
It must include:
LGBTQ+ workplace education
Inclusive communication training
Policies against discrimination and microaggressions
Visible support year-round
Representation in leadership and branding
Safe spaces for employees and consumers
Because no company becomes inclusive “by decree.”
Finland’s LGBTQ+ Reality Is More Complex Than Many Think
Finland - Rainbow Map 206
Internationally, Finland is often perceived as progressive and LGBTQ+ friendly.
Legally, that image is partially true.
Finland currently ranks among the top European countries for LGBTQ+ rights according to Rainbow Map rankings. Yet social visibility and emotional safety remain complicated realities for many queer people living there.
According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights here, only a small percentage of LGBTQ+ people in Finland feel fully comfortable being themselves in working life.
For Medina, this contradiction reveals one of the country’s biggest blind spots and we ask him: Finland is often internationally perceived as progressive and safe for LGBTQ+ people, yet many queer people still experience fear, invisibility, or silence in everyday life. In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception the world has about LGBTQ+ reality in Finland today?
“Finland is a progressive country when it comes to legislation. We are at the moment nr 6 in the ILGA ranking of Rainbow Europe. But when it comes to communication and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in it, we are falling behind. He say”
That lack of visible LGBTQ+ communication affects not only workplaces — but tourism, hospitality, local businesses, and public life.
Hannu Medina has repeatedly spoken about the lack of visible LGBTQ+ communication in Finland. Why do you think so many companies still hesitate to openly communicate support for queer communities, even in countries that publicly promote equality?
“It is of course still mostly a question of homophobia and transphobia. Companies are still afraid that the representation of our community visually or saying it loud that they are LGBTQ+ friendly is pushing other customers away. The other big reason is lack of awareness of LGBTQ+ people’s lives and reality. They think that it is somehow obvious that I as a gay person can feel safe, included and welcome. They think about these issues as straight people, who do not have to think about these things who do not have these fears and insecurities.“We Speak Gay” Started From a Personal Realization”.
When Queerland Media asked Medina why he created We Speak Gay in 2018 — long before inclusivity became a corporate trend — his answer was deeply personal.
After coming out in 2015 and later traveling around Europe with his husband, Medina noticed something surprising:
Finland was almost invisible when it came to LGBTQ+ communication.
“I had come out of the closet in 2015. Living a heteronormative life I did not of course put any attention to LGBTQ+ inclusive communication or actually the lack of it in Finland. It was only after meeting my husband and travelling around in Europe when I noticed how much this segment was targeted especially in the travel business and that attention was totally lacking in Finland. I realized that this was a business opportunity.”
That observation became the foundation for We Speak Gay.
Today, the initiative connects LGBTQ+ travelers, locals, and consumers with businesses and destinations committed to creating safer and more inclusive experiences.
The network includes companies, events, tourism organizations, hotels, restaurants, and cultural institutions across Finland that complete LGBTQ+ inclusivity training and commit to visible, respectful communication.
Among the organizations connected to the community are Visit Tampere, Visit Kokkola, Visit Oulu, Tavastia Club, Suomenlinna, and Hotel Klaus K. Just to mention a few, there are currently more than 170 companies within the We Speak Gay community and you can find them here.
Hannu, Companies and destinations like Visit Tampere have joined the We Speak Gay community. What conversations usually happen behind closed doors before a company decides to publicly say: “We welcome LGBTQ+ people”?
There are currently more than 170 companies within the We Speak Gay community across Finland
“In most cases the companies are contacting me saying that they wish to be members in the community. So they have already had these discussions before contacting me. Often they also contact me saying that they want to be change makers in their city or region. They realise that they are not just promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion inside their own company or towards their customers. They are also working for the local LGBTQ+ community, bringing awareness about these issues. LGBTQ+ Communication Is Not “General Equality”
One of the strongest points Medina raised during the conversation was the difference between generic equality messaging and actual LGBTQ+ communication.
According to him, many companies believe they are being inclusive simply by saying:
“We oppose discrimination.”But that is not enough. And this was our next question: One of the most interesting aspects of We Speak Gay is that it goes beyond symbolism. Businesses inside the network commit to inclusivity training, visibility, and real accountability. What separates authentic LGBTQ+ inclusion from performative LGBTQ+ marketing?
“I would say that I am actually looking for companies that are already LGBTQ+friendly and LGBTQ+ inclusive, Medina explains, They just do not know that they should say it loud and they do not know how to vocalise, visualise and symbolize it. I am not working with companies that I feel are just after our pink money or are doing these things just during Pride. I trust my intuition when having initial discussions and conversations with new potential We Speak Gay member companies.”
He shared examples of businesses claiming to be LGBTQ+ friendly while only publishing vague diversity statements with no concrete mention of queer people, safety, visibility, or inclusion.
Instead, Medina encourages companies to be direct and intentional:
Say LGBTQ+ people are welcome
Explain what inclusion means internally
Mention training and education
Publicly oppose homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia
Maintain visible communication year-round
Because queer audiences notice the difference immediately.
And search engines do too.
Why LGBTQ+ Visibility Still Matters in 2026
At a time when anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is rising globally again, visible queer inclusion remains emotionally powerful. For many LGBTQ+ people, especially travelers, safety cannot be assumed. It must be communicated.
Studies from LGBTQ+ family organizations in Finland reveal that many queer families still fear discrimination while traveling abroad. Similar anxieties also exist domestically.
According to Medina, that emotional weight shapes every travel experience:
“Especially when it comes to travelling you want to feel safe and relaxed. That is the whole reason of holidays and travelling. If you have to think and stress about your safety when planning the trip and during the trip – it is consuming energy not giving energy. That is why we have LGBTQ+ tourism or queer tourism. We want to travel to places that are safe and LGBTQ+ friendly and saying it loud and clear.”
That is why We Speak Gay emphasizes vocalization, representation, visual signals, and symbolism. The stickers placed on businesses and destinations may appear simple, but their impact can be immediate.
©WESPEAKGAY instagram
For LGBTQ+ consumers, seeing a visible sign of inclusion can change everything. It builds instant trust. It sends a clear message: you are safe here, you are respected here, you are welcome here.
The We Speak Gay sticker and logo work as a quiet but powerful signal. It tells people that your business, brand, or service understands LGBTQ+ realities and communicates with respect and awareness. No guessing. No fear. No second thoughts before walking in, booking, buying, or recommending. The Audit Behind the Rainbow
Unlike many symbolic Pride partnerships, We Speak Gay also audits companies during their first year inside the network.
If businesses fail to demonstrate action, they risk losing membership.
For Medina, accountability matters more than visibility.
Before joining the community, businesses must commit to:
LGBTQ+ communication training
Inclusive terminology and language education
Understanding sexuality and gender diversity
Visible LGBTQ+ representation
Long-term commitment beyond Pride Month
And according to Medina, intuition also plays a role.
“I can feel if they are committed or not.”
The Uncomfortable Question Companies Still Avoid
At the end of the conversation, we asked Medina If you could challenge governments, media companies, brands, and society with one uncomfortable but necessary question about LGBTQ+ visibility today, what would you ask them — and do you think they are truly ready to answer it?
His answer was immediate.
“What are you really and specifically doing for the LGBTQ+ workers in your company or when it comes to your LGBTQ+ customers. In the Finnish equity legislation there is a clear demand for all companies to promote equity. But this has to be clearly and specifically also addressed to LGBTQ+ people and I do not see that much visibility or representation of our community. So I think companies assume they are doing things but they do not know.”
Not performative slogans.
Not temporary campaigns.
Not rainbow-colored logos.
Actual action.
Because visibility without education creates empty inclusion.
And inclusion without communication often becomes invisible.
Why This Conversation Matters
©WESPEAKGAY
As Pride Month begins once again, companies everywhere will decide whether LGBTQ+ inclusion is simply a seasonal aesthetic — or a year-round responsibility.
For queer communities, the difference is no longer difficult to recognize.
Authentic LGBTQ+ inclusion is visible in:
workplace culture
leadership
communication
education
tourism
representation
accountability
everyday interactions
Not just in June.
And initiatives like We Speak Gay are proving that inclusion is not about perfection. In 2023, the Finnish LGBTQ+ brand We Speak Gay (Medina Helsinki Communications Oy) was named the national winner for Finland in The Spark category at the Blaze Inclusion Awards.
Want to know more about WE SPEAK GAY? Visit their website here , social media here & Hannu Medina on LinkedIn
Listen the podcast interview to Hannu Medina here (only in Finnish)
It is about intention, education, visibility, and consistency.
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