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Diversity and inclusion calendar 2024

From month-long observances to special DEI holidays, add these to your 2024 work calendar.

Cartoon image of people looking at dates on a diversity and inclusion calendar for 2024

Inclusive leaders make their team feel like their whole self is seen and appreciated at work. Being cognizant of different holidays and celebrations can go a long way in doing that.

Perhaps your company chooses to highlight the diversity of your employees by collectively celebrating different festive days. Or maybe you're encouraging employees to use floating paid holidays to mark important days with their families and friends. Either way, a diversity awareness calendar can help you meet your goals. Avoid insensitive missteps by checking against these diversity holidays before scheduling all-hands meetings or company parties.

Start your planning with this 2024 diversity and inclusion calendar — and make sure it's truly inclusive by asking your team to add the holidays that are important to them.

*Please note that this calendar does NOT contain all holidays globally and is not a replacement for national holiday calendars. It is meant as a supplemental tool to help remind you of diversity celebrations throughout the year, as well as significant dates that may not always be top of mind for you.

If you notice any major holidays that should be added, please reach out to us at hi@powertofly.com and include the subject line "Diversity Calendar Feedback."*

Check out the DEIB Calendar feature on PowerUp for detailed descriptions of each holiday, suggestions on how to inclusively celebrate or commemorate them, and resources to share with your team or network.

JANUARY

The 2024 DEIB Calendar begins with two month-long observances in January:

  • Poverty in America Awareness Month is dedicated to raising awareness to the growth of poverty in the United States. Organizations across the nation work to end poverty by creating equity and opportunity.
  • Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month is a time to reflect on the resilience of trafficking survivors and recognize the efforts of those who work tirelessly to prevent and eliminate this inhumane and devastating form of abuse and exploitation.

Daily observances:

January 1: New Year’s Day

January 3: Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

January 4: World Braille Day

January 5: Twelfth Night

January 6: Epiphany, or Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day)

January 7: Eastern Orthodox Christmas

January 9: The Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji

January 13: Lohri-Maghi

January 15: Makar Sankranti

January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 16: Timkat

January 18: Bodhi Day

January 18-25: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

January 22: Lunar New Year

January 24: International Day of Education

January 25: Mahayana New Year

January 26: Republic Day of India

January 27: The International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Holocaust

FEBRUARY

February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada. Carter G. Woodson started the tradition with the creation of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In 1926, Negro History Week was established. Since 1976, the month has been federally designated to remember the contributions of people of the African diaspora.

Daily observances:

February 1: National Freedom Day

February 1: St. Brigid of Kildare

February 1-7: International Interfaith Harmony Week

February 2: Candlemas

February 7: Lailat al Miraj

February 13: Mardi Gras

February 14: St. Valentine’s Day

February 14: Vasant Panchami

February 15: Parinirvana Day or Nirvana Day

February 20: Presidents Day in the United States

February 14: Ash Wednesday

February 24: Maghi-Purnima

February 24: Magha Puja Day

February 25: Lailat al Bara’a or Night of Forgiveness

February 26 to 29: Intercalary Days or Ayyám-i-Há

MARCH

March is Women’s History Month. Established in 1987, the month recognizes all women for their valuable contributions to history and society.

More monthly observances:

  • National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month was established to increase awareness and understanding of issues affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month was established to raise public awareness of the autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.

Daily observances:

March 1: St. David’s Day

March 1-19: Nineteen-Day Fast

March 8: International Women’s Day

March 8: Maha Shivaratri

March 10: Meatfare Sunday or The Sunday of the Last Judgment

March 11 to April 9: Ramadan

March 13 to April 15: Deaf History Month

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day

March 18: Clean Monday

March 19: St. Joseph’s Day

March 20: Ostara

March 20 to March 21: Nowruz/Norooz, or Persian New Year

March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 24: Palm Sunday

March 25: Holi

March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

March 28: Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday

March 29: Good Friday

March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility

March 31: Easter

APRIL

April is Celebrate Diversity Month, a celebration initiated in 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity surrounding us all. By celebrating differences and similarities during this month, organizers hope that people will gain a deeper understanding of each other.

More monthly observances:

  • Autism Acceptance Month was established to raise awareness about and acceptance of the developmental disability that impacts an individual’s experience of the world around them.
  • National Arab American Heritage Month celebrates the Arab American heritage and culture and pays tribute to the contributions of Arab Americans and Arabic-speaking Americans.

Daily observances:

April 2: World Autism Awareness Day

April 9: Eid al-Fitr

April 5-13: Passover is an eight-day Jewish holiday in commemoration of the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.

April 9-17: Chaitra Navratri

April 13: Vaisakhi or Baisakhi

April 17: Ram Navami

April 17 to April 18: Yom HaShoah is Israel’s day of remembrance for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

April 21: Mahavir Jayanti

April 22-30: Passover

April 27: Lazarus Saturday

April 21 to May 2: The Festival of Ridvan

April 22: Earth Day

April 23: St. George’s Day is the feast day of St. George celebrated by various Christian churches.

MAY

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, also known as Mental Health Month. Its aim is to raise awareness and educate the public about mental illnesses and reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses.

More monthly observances:

  • Older Americans Month was established in 1963 to honor the legacies and contributions of older Americans and support them as they enter their next stage of life.
  • Jewish American Heritage Month recognizes the diverse contributions of the Jewish people to American culture.
  • Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the United States commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7th, 1843 and marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10th, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks on the project were Chinese immigrants.

Daily observances:

May 1: Beltane

May 3: Feasts of Saints Philip and James

May 3: Asian-American Women's Equal Pay Day

May 4: National Day of Prayer

May 5: Orthodox Easter or Pascha

May 5: Cinco de Mayo

May 6: Yom HaShoah

May 9: Ascension of Jesus or Ascension Day

May 13: Yom Ha’Atzmaut

May 17: International Day Against Homophobia

May 19: Malcolm X Day

May 21: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

May 23: Vesak or Buddha Jayanti or Buddha Purnima or Buddha Day

May 23: Declaration of the Báb

May 26: Lag BaOmer

May 27: Memorial Day in the United States

May 28: Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh

JUNE

Pride Month — Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month was established to recognize the impact that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on the world. LGBTQIA+ groups note this time with Pride parades, picnics, parties, memorials for those lost to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS, and other group gatherings. The last Sunday in June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Day.

More monthly observances:

  • Immigrant Heritage Month was established in June 2014 and gives people across the United States an opportunity to explore their heritages and celebrate the shared diversity that forms the unique story of the United States. The month celebrates immigrants across the United States and their contributions to their local communities and economy.

Daily observances:

June 2: Native American Citizenship Day

June 4: Trinity Sunday

June 7: Feast of the Most Sacred Heart

June 11 (sundown) to June 13 (sundown): Shavuot

June 14: Flag Day in the United States

June 16: The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev

June 16: Waqf al Arafa

June 17: Eid al-Adha

June 19: Juneteenth or Freedom Day or Emancipation Day

June 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day, or First Nations Day, in Canada

June 28: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Day in the United States

June 29: Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul

JULY

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. This observance raises awareness of the challenges that affect the mental health of historically underrepresented groups. Learn more about mental health and find ways to support mental health equity.

Daily observances:

July 1: Canada Day, or Fête du Canada

July 4: Independence Day, or the Fourth of July, in the United States

July 7: Hijri New Year

July 9: The Martyrdom of the Bab

July 14: International Nonbinary People’s Day

July 15: St. Vladimir Day

July 17: Ashura

July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day

July 21: Asalha Puja or Dharma Day

July 23: The birthday of Haile Selassie I

July 24: Pioneer Day

July 25: St. James the Greater Day

July 26: Disability Independence Day

July 27: Black American Women’s Equal Pay Day

July 30: The International Day of Friendship

AUGUST

Daily observances:

August 1: Lammas

August 6: Transfiguration of the Lord

August 13 to August 15: Obon, or Ullambana

August 15: Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary

August 17: Marcus Garvey Day

August 19: Raksha Bandhan

August 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

August 26: Women’s Equality Day in the United States

August 26: Krishna Janmashtami

SEPTEMBER

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15th to October 15th. This month corresponds with Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated on September 16th and recognizes the revolution in 1810 that ended the Spanish dictatorship.

Daily observances:

September 2: Labor Day in the United States

September 6: Ganesh Chaturthi

September 11: Ethiopian New Year

September 16: Mawlid or Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi

September 18: International Equal Pay Day

September 21: International Day of Peace

September 22: Mabon

September 27: Elevation of the Life Giving Cross or Holy Cross

September 27: Native American Day in the United States

September 28: Teacher’s Day in Taiwan

September 29: Michaelmas or the Feast of Michael and All Angels

OCTOBER

October is Global Diversity Awareness Month, a month to celebrate and increase awareness about the diversity of cultures and ethnicities as well as the positive impact diversity can have on society.

More monthly observances:

  • LGBTQ+ History Month is a US observance that started in 1994 to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history and the history of the gay rights movement.
  • National Disability Employment Awareness Month was launched in 1945 when Congress declared the first week in October as “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1998, the week was extended to a month and renamed. The annual event draws attention to employment barriers that still need to be addressed.
  • Black History Month is celebrated in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and The Netherlands.

Daily observances:

October 1: International Day of Older Persons

October 2-4 (sundown to sundown): Rosh Hashanah

October 3-9: Navratri

October 4: St. Francis Day

October 5: Latina Equal Pay Day

October 10: World Mental Health Day

October 11: National Coming Out Day in the United States

October 12: Yom Kippur

October 14: Canadian Thanksgiving

October 16: Birth of Báb

October 16: International Pronouns Day

October 20: Sikh Holy Day or Birth of Guru Granth Sahib

October 23-25 (sundown to sundown): Shemini Atzeret or The Eighth (Day) of Assembly

October 25: Simchat Torah

October 31: All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween

October 31: Diwali

NOVEMBER

November is National Native American Heritage Month, which celebrates the history and contributions of Native Americans.

More monthly observances:

  • National Family Caregivers Month was proclaimed in 2012 by former President Barack Obama. It honors the more than forty million caregivers across the country who support aging parents, ill spouses, or other loved ones with disabilities who remain at home.

Daily observances:

November 1: All Saints’ Day

November 2: All Souls’ Day or Día de los Muertos

November 11: Veterans Day in the United States

November 13 to November 19: Transgender Awareness Week

November 15 to December 24: Nativity Fast

November 19: International Men’s Day

November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 24: Feast of Christ the King

November 28: Thanksgiving Day in the United States

November 29: Native American Heritage Day

November 30: Native American Women’s Equal Pay Day

DECEMBER

Daily observances:

December 1: World AIDS Day

December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities

December 7 to December 15: Hanukkah

December 9: Immaculate Conception of Mary or the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

December 10: International Human Rights Day

December 12: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 16 to December 24: Las Posadas

December 21: Yule Winter Solstice

December 25: Christmas Day

December 26: Boxing Day

December 26 to January 1: Kwanzaa

December 27: St. John’s Apostle and Evangelist Day

December 28: Feast of the Holy Innocents

December 31: Watch Night

Thanks to the Anti-Defamation League, Diversity Best Practices, and other inclusivity-focused resources for background research!

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