What is your company’s ‘Bridgerton’?

When a transgender employee came out to their colleagues at 8ThirtyFour Integrated Communications, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and revealed they had been turned down for an apartment because of their gender identity, the company’s founder and principal, Kim Bode, decided to act.

“It took several months of working here, and they were encouraged by other staff members to come forward,” says Bode, who employs eight people, including one other gay employee. “Because of who we are and what our culture is, we decided to fully embrace this.”

In 2020, shortly after the employee’s revelation, Bode joined Small Business 4 Equality, a coalition of West Michigan companies keen to expand the state’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. They are demanding explicit protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, education and employment.

This summer, building on the momentum of Pride Month in June, Bode plans to announce a $5,000 scholarship in partnership with Grand Valley State University’s Division of Inclusion and Equity. LGBTQ+ students will be able to apply beginning in October, with funds beings dispersed the following school year, she says.