Companies back away from Pride, but not in Boston
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
As part of diversity, equity, and inclusion walk-backs, many companies said they would no longer participate in "external events" or pledges, namely Pride parades that will take place across the country next month.
Why it matters: This is a major pivot for the once proud corporate America.
Zoom in: In Boston, organizers last week announced "Here to Stay" as the theme behind this year's Pride parade and celebration. Organizers say no major sponsors dropped out this year.
What they're saying: "There are those who wish we would disappear—go back in the closet, quiet our voices, and surrender the rights we've fought so hard to claim," Boston Pride for the People president Adrianna Boulin said in a press release.
State of play: Mastercard, Citi, Pepsi, Nissan and PwC pulled sponsorship of NYC Pride. Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte pulled out of WorldPride Washington, D.C., and Anheuser-Busch, Comcast and Diageo stopped sponsoring San Francisco Pride.
- Meanwhile, Minneapolis' Twin Cities Pride rejected Target's sponsorship dollars, citing wishy-washy support of the LGBTQ+ community and its DEI rollbacks.
Between the lines: Boston Pride for the People, the group that's been running Boston's Pride celebration since 2023, told Axios that this year's parade is getting back almost all the sponsors that contributed last year.
- Some nonprofit groups are sitting out this year, not because of politics, but for budgetary reasons.
- The group was hoping for more interest from first-time sponsors, but that didn't materialize.
By the numbers: 39% of corporations are scaling back external Pride Month engagements this year, according to Gravity Research data.
- This is a sharp increase from last year, when only 9% said they were changing their external Pride engagement.