Pride month: can companies fight back against a backlash?

Pride month: can companies fight back against a backlash?

By Jo Faragher on 9 June 2025

June is Pride Month, but for many LGBTQ+ people and their allies, there’s a sense it’s slightly different this year. A number of companies have rolled back their rainbow banners and usual public support, while in Toronto, the city’s Pride event lost three key sponsors – with the companies thought to have been “scared off” by the potential backlash of being seen to support LGBTQ rights. Here in the UK, Liverpool Pride has been cancelled due to “difficulty securing national and local funding”, and the recent UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex has made some corporations nervous about offering vocal support for trans and LGBTQ+ colleagues.

Research suggests that this nervousness is misplaced, however: according to LGBTQ+ acceptance group GLAAD, 71% of Americans believe that companies should have the freedom to participate in Pride month. Seven in 10 said that knowing a brand or store offers LGBTQ+ or Pride collections would have a positive impact or no impact on their purchasing decisions. Some brands continue to loudly support Pride – Levi’s unveiled its 2025 Pride month collection alongside a $100,000 donation to Outright International, a global charity working to advance human rights for LGBTQ+ people across the world. In April, fewer than 1% of its shareholders supported a proposal to abolish its DEI programmes, unlike companies like Boeing, Meta and Amazon who have removed theirs.

“Organisations fall into three camps right now – retreat, reframe, reform,” says Asad Dhunna, founder and CEO of The Unmistakables, which advises brands on inclusion. “The most important thing is to get under the skin of what the community needs, and prioritise performance based outcomes over performative gestures. This means ensuring that it feels great to be an LGBTQ+ person working for you, and that you have a right to play for any LGBTQ+ people buying from you.” Dhunna adds that rolling back support for Pride could send out a stronger message than brands think. “Abandoning support for Pride events sends a signal about what your business truly stands for. The community – particularly within the UK – is facing increased hate crimes, and a roll back in rights. In the short term it might seem palatable, but in the long term it can cause a decline in reputation, trust and authenticity,” he adds.

Business case

Bobbi Pickard, CEO of Trans in the City, says there are a number of “headwinds” at play that are putting corporations off investment in LGBTQ+ causes. “One thing is that there’s just less money overall because employees are dealing with the rising cost of living,” she says. “And global companies with federal US contracts are under huge pressure to keep their licence to work, so don’t want to be seen to be supporting anything to do with D&I, and particularly Pride.” Business leaders are more risk averse than ever of speaking out on certain issues, while some Pride organisers are reluctant to court corporate sponsorship, despite the high costs of running an event. That said, she feels like the current rolling back of LGBTQ+ allyship is part of a wider D&I reset that would likely have happened anyway. “Most are not rolling it back fully, they’re just calling it something else. Businesses know that if they want to attract talent for the future they need to be inclusive, otherwise people will go somewhere else,” she adds.

Chris Allan, director of consultancy Your D&I, has seen a marked decline in demand for Pride workshops this year compared to last, which compelled him to post on LinkedIn asking whether Pride had been “cancelled” this year. “Last year it felt like we were receiving a lot more Pride discounts or promotions but this year it’s much more low key,” he says. “The pink pound brings in around £6 billion annually to the UK economy so it makes not just cultural sense but also business sense to support LGBTQ+ communities and attract them to your stores. Now more than ever we need allyship and visibility from organisations.” Allan says companies are fearful and want to appease investors and board members, but this is not truly inclusive behaviour. He adds: “They need to ask the people who are directly affected by this (such as the UK Supreme Court decision) rather than taking decisions without that lived experience. There is often miscommunication on both sides.”

Allyship at work

The external perception of whether a brand chooses to support Pride or not is not the only factor to consider. It’s also crucial to consider the impact on employees’ mental health and feelings of belonging in work, which can have an impact on productivity and retention. “When LGBTQ professionals don’t feel safe or seen at work, it impacts everything – from mental health to performance, to retention,” say Adrien and Pierre Gaubert, co-founders of LGBTQ business community myGwork. “But when allyship is real and embedded into a company’s culture, you create psychological safety, open the door to innovation and foster loyalty. In today’s climate, allyship isn’t a box-tick – but a crucial, long-term investment in your people.”

They point out that younger workers now expect a “new standard for authenticity” from employers, adding: “They don’t just want to know if your company supports Pride; they want to know who’s in your leadership team, what your internal policies look like, how you treat trans employees, and how you show up when it’s hard. They’re looking for real allies – people who aren’t afraid to speak up, advocate, and challenge the status quo. That’s why allyship isn’t just good ethics – it’s good business. The companies that lead with courage and consistency will attract the most purpose-driven, talented professionals of this generation.”

Of course, Pride month is only one month of the year. As Adrien and Pierre point out: “Allyship isn’t seasonal, and it’s not just for Pride Month. Real allyship shows up in the uncomfortable moments – when someone speaks out against harmful legislation, when leaders challenge homophobic remarks, and when companies defend inclusive values even when it’s unpopular.”