The Chartered Insitute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), an association of human resource professionals have published new guidance on how businesses can promote trans and non-binary inclusion in the workplace.
The guide provides professionals, employers, and people managers with the information needed to take an informed and proactive approach to supporting transgender and non-binary people at work, as part of a broader diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) policy. It also provides insights from people with lived experience to help employers understand the issues and challenges facing these individuals.
Data from the CIPD shows that 55 per cent of trans employees have experienced harassment and discrimination while at work. Additionally, 18 per cent of trans employees say that they feel psychologically unsafe.
The guide covers the key areas of the entire lifecycle of an employee – from recruitment through to progression – as well as suggestions to build a more inclusive workplace culture.
Commenting on the new guidelines, Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD said: “It’s the responsibility of every employer to recognise the challenges faced by all marginalised groups, including transgender and non-binary people, and take every measure to provide safe and inclusive environments where everyone can thrive.”
An acknowledgement of gender-critical beliefs
The guide highlights that employers in England, Scotland, and Wales have a legal responsibility to create a safe working environment for all employees, regardless of their protected characteristics. The Equality Act 2010 protects all employees from discrimination and harassment on the basis of their protected characteristics, which include age, disability, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, gender, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
However, the guide does mention that under the same act, gender-critical views may be protected as “holding these views is not in itself unlawful discrimination.” The guide does note though, that holding those views doesn’t give anyone the right to “manifest” any of those views in a discriminatory way at work.
For example, intentional deadnaming is considered unlawful, as is refusing to use a colleague’s correct name or pronouns or revealing personal information.
The guide advises business leaders to be very clear on the boundaries between “acceptable differences of beliefs and unacceptable manifestations of behaviour in the workplace.”
The guide suggests that individual employers have a clear definition of what could be considered transphobic to clarify the standards for behaviour.
Use the lived experience to shape policy
Elsewhere in the guide, the CIPD urges businesses to consult outside experts and employees with lived experience when shaping new DE&I policies. By actively listening, business leaders can “develop and intersectional perspective” and “identify any particular aspects which may not be clearly understood and/or fully accepted by others who hold alternative views.”
The guide also suggests how HR teams and business leaders can support employees who are transitioning. They highlight long waiting times for gender-affirming care through the NHS and the “bullying, harassment and hostility, which is most likely to occur at the point of transition but can happen at any time.”
The CIPD advises creating a transitioning-at-work policy to support both line managers and colleagues. They say the policy should go beyond the possible medical needs and also consider the lived experience, best practices for support and data protection for employees going through a legal name change.
The CIPD’s guidelines come as many household brands in the UK are announcing new policies that offer specific support to trans and non-binary employees. Earlier this summer, electronics retailer Currys revealed that they will offer an additional six weeks of paid leaveto cover appointments, surgeries and recovery time.
Compassion and understanding are the key
For Thea Bardot, a non-binary business owner and founder of Lightning Travel, the guidance from the CIPD some one of the strongest they’ve ever seen.
“The methodology is robust, with trans and non-binary people having been consulted, as well as organisations specialising in inclusion and awareness and this is evident in the recommendations made.”
They tell PinkNews: “The guidance puts people first, making it clear that for real change to be made in this space compassion and understanding are key, that conversation should be encouraged and that training is essential.”
Bardot appreciates that the CIPD addresses the polarising issue of gender-critical beliefs and the guide “acknowledges that while some people may hold this view it does not mean that it is lawful for those views to be communicated in a way which is discriminatory.”
“I consider this to be essential reading, especially for those involved in recruitment, HR and people management,” Bardot concludes.
“It provides an invaluable framework enabling companies to begin a crucial conversation which so many are currently avoiding. Tackling this subject head-on will benefit everyone within the organisation, not just those who are gender diverse.”
Katherine Milon was strolling Philadelphia’s picturesque Pine Street when she saw the awning for Giovanni’s Room. Wait, that’s a gay book, Milon thought. This is a gay bookstore!
Soon after, Milon began volunteering at the venerable queer and feminist bookseller — named for James Baldwin’s classic 1956 novel — becoming co-manager a few years later. In the past five years, Milon has witnessed COVID decimate business, the store’s pivot to e-commerce during the pandemic, the return of foot traffic in 2021, and, just this summer, the 50th anniversary of Giovanni’s Room, which is the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ+ bookstore in the nation. A joyous block party in front of the location heralded Giovanni’s half-century, with live readings, performances, and parties marking the occasion.
For the store, a love of literature and the embrace of the local queer community has staved off a fate that’s befallen similar spaces across the country — only about 50 LGBTQ+ bookstores remain. But the people behind Giovanni’s Room, from the earliest owners to current management, also made decisions that ensured the store’s survival. The store actually closed its doors in 2014 when it could no longer turn a profit. That’s when Philly AIDS Thrift, a local 501c3 that offers donations, proceeds, and microloans to communities affected by HIV, offered to partner up.
“What they proposed at the time was to create an integrated business model where we still order and sell new books, but we also have thrifted goods available in the store and that helps cut back on overhead,” Milon says. “We have a room with all the new books but we have people coming in to buy 29 cent cassette tapes or looking at our thrifted clothing, so there’s a real community feel.”
That type of creative thinking has carried through from Giovanni’s earliest days when it was opened in 1973 by three members of the Gay Activists Alliance, Bernie Boyle, Dan Scherbo, and Tom Wilson Weinberg, who were enamored with the Oscar Wilde bookstore in New York City (which closed in 2009). But running a queer business in the early ’70s was extremely challenging.
“This was during the time when if you’re opening a gay bar or club it was clandestine,” Milon says. “You had to go down alleyways or know someone who could get you in. So this was a gay business where the windows were open and they had the stock in the windows. They let you know who they were and what they were doing.”
The owners had to do battle with censorship and a society that labeled anything about gay life “pornographic.” (How little has changed.)
“We actually got in trouble with the first couple rounds of landlords because they would see the kinds of books sold and suddenly the rent would go up 3,000 percent,” Milon says.
Boyle, Scherbo, and Weinberg would soon sell the business to Pat Hill, a local lesbian activist. Hill encountered her own troubles keeping the business afloat, going on welfare at one point.
There were more ownership changes through the years, but Milon describes the 1990s as Giovanni’s glory days, when gay authors like Leslie Feinberg and Michael Cunningham were churning out hits, and the internet hadn’t yet widely affected consumer culture. Following the hybrid thrift store/bookstore model, things looked up, partly thanks to a team of volunteers who helped staff the store for next to nothing. Then, came COVID. After the lockdowns lifted, “if we had five customers in the store [total], it was a good day.”
Thankfully, foot traffic returned in 2021, improved even more last year, and “2023 has been off the charts,” Milon says. It helps that Giovanni’s Room is more than a bookstore; it remains a locus of queer life in Philadelphia, with in-person readings, an in-person book club, and various other events that keep people coming back and spending money. Queer author bell hooks remains a perennial favorite, and, of course, Baldwin. Contemporary writers like Brandon Taylor, Torrey Peters, Julia Serrano, and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper books are also big sellers. Milon uses Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues book as an example of the community’s embrace of her store; while the 1993 novel is available for free on Feinberg’s website, people still line up to buy the printed version from Giovanni’s Room.
“This is definitely a store the community has kept alive through sheer love and dedication,” Milon says. “When they moved into the latest building, volunteers built our main staircase, cut the shop windows, cut the door. We are literally the product of the community coming together year after year, decade after decade, to keep us alive.”
The new owner of two historically pro-LGBTQ+ bars has come under fire for making a number of donations to the Republican Party, totalling nearly $10,000.
A former employee of The Union Cafe and Axis Nightclub, two LGBTQ-friendly establishments in Columbus, Ohio, called out new owner Michael Purdum for contributing thousands of dollars to Republican Party officials.
Nicholas Elkovitch detailed the accusations in a Facebook message on 25 August, following his dismissal after nearly nine years of working in various roles at both establishments, including as restaurant manager, promotions director and entertainment booker.
He said that several other senior members had also been dismissed following Purdum’s purchase of the businesses.
In 2022, Purdum, who owns the Old Bag of Nails restaurant group, purchased Union Cafe and Axis Nightclub.
Alongside allegations that the new owners would turn the pro-LGBTQ+ businesses into “Republican-owned” spaces, the former employee also shared a number of screenshots that detail Purdum’s donations to local and national GOP groups.
Among the donations are a set of payments to Republican Ohio attorney general Dave Yost from 2018 to 2021 totally at least $7,000, as well as $500 to the Republican National Committee in 2012, and $500 to former US speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, in 2011.
Gingrich has made a number of anti-LGBTQ+ remarks in the past, including a tirade in 2021 in which he claimed president Joe Biden was “attacking” anti-LGBTQ+ pundits by waving Pride flags at embassies.
“They will never be the pro-gay, pro-trans, pro-Black spaces they used to be because it might negatively impact the view of their fish-fry pubs in the suburbs,” Elkovitch wrote.
“What was once a PROUD gay-owned space, is now a Republican-owned space that must ask permission to defend its own community.”
In a statement provided to the Columbus Dispatch, Union Cafe and Axis Nightclub executive manager, Joey Steward, refuted the allegations made against Purdum and the newly acquired businesses.
“The goal since the acquisition of the two venues has been to maintain the business operations and enhance the culture of being a safe and welcoming space for the LGBTQIA+ staff and community.
“One way we have executed this goal is by maintaining staff continuity as evidenced by the leadership team expansion in adherence with our philosophy of promoting existing staff members from within these two venues.”
Responding to the backlash following Elkovitch’s post, the Union Cafe shared a statement on Instagram saying that it wished to “set the record straight”.
“Michael Purdum has made occasional contributions to Republican candidates over the years, all of which were done prior to the purchase and involvement with these two venues,” the statement read.
“Union Cafe and Axis Nightclub provides donations to LGBTQIA+ organisations, entertainers, and individuals throughout the year.
“Michael Purdum is, and will continue to be, a dedicated ally to our community and is committed to maintaining these venues as safe spaces.”
An LGBTQ+ owned cosmetics brand has cut ties with Alice Cooper in the wake of wildly anti-trans remarks the rock star made in a recent interview.
In a statement posted to its official Instagram page on Friday, Vampyre Cosmetics announced that it has canceled a collaboration with the 75-year-old singer, known for his theatrical stage persona and goth makeup.
“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration,” the brand’s post reads. “We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded.”
On its website, Vampyre Cosmetics describes itself as “proudly women owned, disabled owned and LGBT+ owned,” and in their Instagram bio they describe their products as “for all races, ages and genders.”
According to Billboard, the brand launched its presale for the collaboration on August 14, with Cooper announcing the collection on his official website a few days later. The products have now been removed from Vampyre Cosmetics’ website.
Last week, Cooper made headlines for a going on a vile anti-trans rant in an interview with Stereogum. The “School’s Out” singer was asked to weigh in on recent anti-trans statements made on social media by fellow veteran shock rockers Paul Stanley of Kiss and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, both of whom have since attempted to walk back their comments.
Cooper said he agreed with Snider and Stanley’s initial comments, suggesting that kids coming out as transgender or nonbinary at a young age is “a fad.” The “social contagion” narrative that more young people are coming out as trans due to peer pressure and exposure to trans-affirming messages on social media continues to be propagated by Republican politicians and anti-trans activists, despite being widely discredited by experts.
Cooper went on to reference a litany of right-wing anti-trans misinformation and conspiracy theories, including the thoroughly debunked hoax that schools are installing litter boxes for students who identify as cats, and the idea that trans women pose a threat to cisgender women in public bathrooms.
As of Monday, Cooper, who is currently promoting a new album, has not responded to the backlash to his remarks.
Chick-fil-A is one of the top 10 largest fast-food chains in the U.S. with a widely loved offering of chicken sandwiches and an estimated 2022 revenue of $6.4 billion, according to Zippia.com. However, the company has also had a long history of supporting anti-LGBTQ+ causes.
Here’s an overview of its queerphobic actions and how social pressure has caused the company to shift its attention away from anti-LGBTQ+ efforts in recent years.
A history of Chick-fil-A’s controversial actions
Since 2003, the WinShape Foundation, a charity co-founded by Chick-fil-A’s now-deceased founder S. Truett Cathy and his wife Jeanette Cathy, has donated over $1 million to groups that actively oppose same-sex marriage, including Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum; the anti-LGBTQ Christian group Focus on the Family; the SLPC-certified hate group Family Research Council; the now-defunct ex-gay therapy group Exodus International; the exclusively for-heterosexuals-only Marriage & Family Legacy Fund; and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a religious groups whose “sexual purity policy” prohibits any homosexual acts.
In 2009, Chick Fil-a doubled that amount to $2 million. In January 2011, Chick-fil-A co-sponsored a marriage conference with the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a group that opposes expanded LGBTQ+ civil rights. In 2012, Chick-fil-A executives promised to stop supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations.
However, The Chick-fil-A Foundation’s IRS filings from 2015 revealed that the foundation donated $1 million to the FCA; $200,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, a Georgia-based residential home for troubled youth which said that child abuse causes homosexuality; and $130,000 to the Salvation Army, a religious international charity that has long opposed same-sex marriage and anti-LGBTQ housing discrimination protectionswhile supporting religious exemptions from LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination laws. In 2017, Chick-fil-A’s donations to these groups equaled nearly $2 million.
Dan Cathy’s statements against same-sex marriage
In 2012, Chick fil-A’s then-president and chief operating officer Dan Cathy made repeated comments against same-sex marriage. On June 16, 2012, Cathy said on The Ken Coleman Show that the United States was “inviting God’s judgment” upon it by redefining marriage to include same-sex spouses. “I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about,” Cathy said.
In a July 2, 2012 interview with Biblical Recorder, Dan Cathy said he was “guilty as charged”when asked about Chick-fil-A’s “support of the traditional family.” In June 2013, the day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Cathy tweeted (and quickly deleted), “Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies.”
By 2014, Cathy said it was a “mistake” to involve his company in the public debate against same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, even into 2021, Cathy — who still serves as the company’s chairman — continued using his money to fund the National Christian Charitable Foundation and its “dark money operations” supporting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Chick-fil-A’s corporate policies and employee treatment
Chick-fil-A’s current statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) says that the company doesn’t allow employment discrimination or harassment based on “sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression,” or other personal characteristics, like religion.
Despite this, in 2002, a Muslim employee of a Houston location sued the chain, alleging that he had been fired for refusing to pray to Jesus with other employees — the company settled the suit out of court. In 2022, a transgender female Chick-fil-A employee sued the restaurant chain after her co-worker allegedly began making violent, racist, and queerphobic threats.
LGBTQ+ Chick-fil-A employees have variously spoken out for and against the company. One anonymous gay worker discouraged boycotts, noting that they would mostly harm the chain’s LGBTQ+ employees, but also accused the restaurant’s anti-gay and Christian supporters of being self-righteous, arrogant, and blind to LGBTQ+ suffering.
Several gay employees said some customers offered homophobic words of support for the business while other people yelled at employees for supporting a homophobic company. Others said that their Chick-fil-A co-workers and supervisors didn’t tolerate homophobic behavior from colleagues.
Chick-fil-A’s philanthropy shifts show the power of consumer advocacy
Chick-fil-A’s supporters have encouraged the company to embrace its anti-gay social stances, while its critics have urged the company to turn away from its anti-LGBTQ+ practices.
In 2012, gay activists and allies staged a national boycott of the chain after one location donated food to a seminar hosted by the anti-gay Pennsylvania Family Institute. To combat the boycotts, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) declared August 1, 2012 as Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.
In support of the day, Huckabee wrote, “Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the godly values we espouse…. Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same-sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we’re considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant.”
The chain said the day’s resulting sales helped set a record for profits.
On August 3, 2012, however, gay rights activists around the nation held kiss-in protests in opposition to the restaurant’s anti-LGBTQ+ donations and Dan Cathy’s views against same-sex marriage. Some of the protests occurred inside and outside of the restaurants. Other LGBTQ+ allies encouraged people to donate money that they would’ve spent at the restaurant to queer organizations like GLAAD.
Chick-fil-A announced in 2017 that that would be the last year in which it would donate to the Paul Anderson Youth Home. In a November 18, 2019 interview, Chick-fil-A president Tim Tassopoulos said the company would no longer donate to the FCA and The Salvation Army. Tassopoulos also said Chick-fil-A would continue to donate to “faith-based [and] non-faith-based” groups.
In response to Tassopoulos’s announcement, the Christian consumer organization 2nd Vote denounced and boycotted Chick-fil-A for pledging not to donate to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations. The American Family Association also circulated a petition which stated, “It looks like you (Chick-fil-A) are abandoning Christian values and agreeing with homosexual activists who say believing the Bible makes you a hater. Please clarify that you still hold to biblical teachings regarding human sexuality, marriage, and family, and reinstate these Christian ministries.”
In a statement released in 2020, the Chick-fil-A Foundation announced that it would donate $9 million equally to promote youth education through Junior Achievement USA, combat youth homelessness via the LGBTQ+-inclusive charity Covenant House International, and fight hunger by giving to local food banks in cities where it opened new locations.
The anti-LGBTQ+ Family Research Council (FRC) criticized Chick-fil-A for publicly withdrawing its support from the FCA and Salvation Army and announcing its support for Covenant House International, something the FRC called “an endorsement of an LGBT agenda.”
Assessing Chick-fil-A’s progress & its potential for change
While Chick-fil-A’s donation strategy has changed for the time being, it still carries an image of being anti-gay. This image has led city airports and college campuses to protest the openings of new Chick-fil-A restaurants. In response, conservative politicians have continued to defend the company’s Christian beliefs.
Apart from rehabbing its public image, the company could do more to welcome its own LGBTQ+ employees.
In 2019, the LGBTQ+ rights organization the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the queer media watchdog group GLAAD both said that they wanted Chick-fil-A to implement fair hiring practices, transparency about donations, and proof that Chick-fil-A has actually stopped donating to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations.
The company could certainly do more to become more LGBTQ+-inclusive. The company has never participated in the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index measuring the company’s own queer-inclusive workplace policies. The company also has no internal employee resource groups for addressing the needs of LGBTQ+-identified team members. It’s unclear if the company offers LGBTQ+-inclusive anti-discrimination training or equal employee benefits, like parental leave and domestic partner benefits, regardless of workers’ sexual orientations or gender identities.
Other businesses have contrasted themselves with Chick-fil-A to highlight their own inclusive business practices and the importance of informed consumption and supporting LGBTQ+-friendly businesses.
In June 2021, for instance, Burger King launched the Ch’King sandwich, which closely resembled Chick-fil-A’s trademark chicken sandwich. In a June 3, 2021 tweet, Burger King wrote, “The #ChKing says LGBTQ+ rights!” It also announced that it would donate 40₵ to the HRC for every Ch’King sandwich sold (with a maximum donation of $250,000).
In September 2022, Alexandre’s Bar in the Dallas gayborhood of Oak Lawn announced the sale of its own “Chick-fil-gAy” sandwich that was only available on Sundays (the day on which all Chick-fil-A locations are closed).
Recent polling shows that 70% of non-LGBTQ+ Americans believe that companies should publicly support the queer community through inclusive policies, advertising, and sponsorships — this belief held especially true for younger consumers. In short, Chick-fil-A could invest in its future by continuing to distance itself from its past anti-gay actions.
Diversity is delicious, homophobia is not
Chick-fil-A has given to groups that oppose LGBTQ+ identities and civil rights. Its current chairman, Dan Cathy, has also made several statements against same-sex marriage. This has tarnished the company’s image, even as it has gradually distanced itself from these positions.
While the company remains very successful, its recent changes in donation and anti-discrimination policies show the impact that consumers have made by advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and supporting inclusive business practices. LGBTQ+ people and allies support and remain loyal to companies that support their queer employees and the larger queer community. It pays to research and patronize such supportive businesses so we can all put our money where our mouths are.
More than half of LGBTQ+ social media users are turning their backs on mainstream platforms over toxicity and safety concerns, a new report indicates.
Communia – the world’s first social media platform for women and marginalised genders – published its “exposé on women’s and marginalised genders’ social media experiences” report on Monday (10 July).
The research, which was conducted between 20-22 June 2023, surveyed 2,058 women and marginalised genders – including 237 LGBTQ+ people – in the UK who are current or past users of social media.
The survey saw almost two in three (60 per cent) of LGBTQ+ respondents state that they are turning their backs on mainstream social platforms due to safety concerns or toxic environments.
Just over a third (34 per cent) of straight respondents said the same.
Further findings show that almost half (46 per cent) of LGBTQ+ respondents feel unsafe online, compared to just under a third (29 per cent) of straight respondents.
Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents said they felt unsafe online due to leaving a digital footprint and data privacy.
Just under three-quarters (73 per cent) of LGBTQ+ users said they had been a victim of online abuse – more than double the proportion among straight respondents.
The survey also found more than half of the queer respondents (59 per cent) had considered cosmetic surgery as a result of social media, while more than four in five (85 per cent) said social media makes them feel less confident in their life choices. Only 54 per cent of straight respondents said the same.
The LGBTQ+ community also ranked highest for having had a partner control or try to control their digital interactions, with 61 per cent answering “yes” compared to 27 per cent of straight respondents.
‘Take important steps to improve the digital world’
Communia’s founder, Olivia DeRamus, said of the findings: “This survey should encourage big tech companies, the UK government, and consumers themselves to take important steps to improve the digital world and make it safe from predatory behaviour, hate speech, trolling, and other forms of abuse.
“I encourage the broader tech community to emulate Communia’s safety and digital well-being strategies. Suggestions include: making it as easy as possible to report abuse, verifying users’ identities, banning those who spread hate at the first incident, and uncensoring the words women need to talk about our own experiences.”
The billionaire, who bought Twitter in October 2022, quietly dropped the platform’s policyprotecting trans people from deadnaming and misgendering in April 2023.
Following his takeover, transphobic remarks were found to have risen by at least 1,458 times per day across the remainder of last year. Additionally, racist, anti-Black comments increased to a height of 3,876 times a day.
Days after the Supreme Court’s ruling that businesses can deny same-sex wedding services if it clashes with their religious views, new data says most American voters disagree with that position. Last week, the nation’s high court sided with a Colorado business owner who argued a state non-discrimination law could not compel her to make same-sex websites.
The survey, conducted by Data for Progress, found 65% of voters believe businesses should not be allowed to turn away customers who are of a particular sexual orientation because of the business owner’s personal beliefs.
Many anti-LGBTQ bills introduced and passed in state houses in recent years were pushed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group. In the 303 Creative v. Elenis case, the CEO and president of the ADF argued before the high court on behalf of the web designer.
Per the poll’s crosstabs, 64% of Republicans “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that businesses should be able to refuse services for same-sex marriages.
For Democrats, the number is 19%.
Around 40% of Republicans also say that businesses should be able to refuse services for interracial marriages and interfaith marriages.
For Democrats, that number is 15%.
Asked about baby showers for unwed mothers, 35% of Republicans says businesses should be able to refuse to provide services.
The bar where police raids sparked the 1969 Stonewall uprising has revealed why it stopped serving Bud Light – and it has nothing to do with calls for a boycott over the beer brand’s collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Co-owners of New York’s Stonewall Inn, Stacy Lentz and Kurt Kelly, have revealed that the bar turned its back on Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, in 2021.
At that time, the bar staged a “Keep Your Pride” campaign, which involving refusing to serve products of companies that claimed to be allies of the queer community but which also donated funds to anti-LGBTQ+ individuals.
“The reason we did that… was because they were out there waving the rainbow flag very vehemently, then turning around and contributing to anti-LGBTQ legislators, which can’t happen,” Lentz told Newsweek. “Our communities are fed up with that.”
Lentz said Bud Light’s collaboration with Mulvaney, who has 12 million followers on TikTok, “makes sense” and warned other businesses: “If you don’t market to Gen Z, then in 20 years or 30 years, your business will not exist because Gen Z is all about equality. Your consumer is ageing out.”
The backlash to the collaboration “was ridiculous,” and “the fact that they catered to it was alarming,” she added.
“But at the same time, they at least made an effort. I thought it was a great campaign.”
Anheuser-Busch faced a deluge of attacks from anti-trans people after they sent Mulvaney a single personalised can to celebrate the first anniversary of her “Days of Girlhood” TikTok series.
However, despite Target, Bud Light and Innocent Drinks being among the brands to face boycott calls over LGBTQ+ inclusion, stats show that most Americans appreciate and value queer people being featured in advertising.
According to GLAAD’s Accelerating Acceptance survey, 75 per cent of straight people feel comfortable seeing LGBTQ+ in advertising, while 60 per cent of heterosexuals agree that seeing queer people in ads makes them more comfortable with those who are different to themselves.
A survey has found that a slim majority – just over half – of LGBTQ+ people in the UK feel comfortable being “out” in the workplace.
The study by consultancy firm Deloitte found that 52 per cent of the 402 LGBTQ+ Brits polled were comfortable being openly queer at work, compared to 43 per cent of the 5,474 LGBTQ+ people polled worldwide.
The survey also found that 43 per cent of LGBTQ+ people in the UK fear being seen differently by their straight, cisgender colleagues, compared to 39 per cent of respondents globally.
Deloitte polled queer people from 13 countries for the survey, and nearly half of the British respondents (49 per cent) reported being discriminated against at work due to their sexuality or gender identity.
Thirty-eight per cent said they had come up against homophobic or transphobic behaviour – including sexual jokes – at work.
Phil Mitchell, co-lead for the Deloitte LGBTQ+ staff network Proud, said: “When people feel that their employers aren’t doing enough to support inclusion or are not taking non-inclusive behaviours seriously, many instances go unreported.
“Employers should take action to ensure that they provide a positive culture of LGBTQ+ inclusion, underpinned by respect.”
Of the LGBTQ+ 18 to 25-year-olds polled for the survey, 19 per cent added that they had been bullied in the workplace, while the study also found that LGBTQ+ young people are paid less than their straight, cisgender peers on average.
Amy Ashenden, interim CEO of Just Like Us, said: “Our research shows that the treatment of LGBT+ people in British society today is preventing young adults from thriving at work.
“LGBT+ young people deserve to safely be themselves at school, home and work – there must be no exceptions.”
Some corporate sponsors have kept lower profiles at Pride celebrations this year, but most have not tightened their purse strings or ditched LGBTQ causes in the face of conservative blowback, event organizers and advocates say.
Nearly 78% of U.S. Pride organizers surveyed this year by InterPride, a network of Pride events around the world, said their corporate sponsorships either rose or held steady since last year — higher than the 62% global figure — while 22% reported declines.
Indy Pride, which organizes official celebrations in Indianapolis, faced new difficulties in the run-up to this year’s festivities. One corporate sponsor pulled its logo from an event, and another raised questions about a youth Pride carnival it had agreed to sponsor after getting “blasted” on social media, said executive director Shelly Snider.
Most of the Pride organizers NBC News spoke with, including Snider, declined to identify corporate sponsors that shrunk their involvement or visibility, concerned about alienating important financial backers. Like Indy Pride, Pride organizations are typically nonprofit organizations that also offer year-round services to the LGBTQ community, such as grants, educational events and support for political activism.
“We’ve hired extra security, gone through ‘stop the bleed’ training in case there is an active shooter,” she said. “This is new to this year. I didn’t think when I took this job that we would have to [learn how to] use a tourniquet, but here we are.”
Even so, Indy Pride raised a record $641,000 and saw crowds swell to an estimated 60,000 at its festival and parade last weekend, putting the event at full capacity.
The mix of changes Snider and other organizers described paint a more complicated picture than recent headlines around brands’ scrambles to respond to anti-LGBTQ backlash — like that faced by Bud Light and Target — may suggest. While some businesses have walked back their ties to LGBTQ events and causes, including Pride-related marketing, many more have maintained or increased their support.
We’ve seen an uptick in support throughout the year. More people are showing up and out, including allies.
JOSH COLEMAN, PRESIDENT OF CENTRAL ALABAMA PRIDE
Josh Coleman, president of Central Alabama Pride in Birmingham, said some longtime corporate sponsors dropped out this year, including Wells Fargo. Others have demanded more input on where their branding appears. But donations have held steady this month, he said, in part because more local and regional sponsors have filled the gaps left by larger companies’ retreats.
“It’s been a little frustrating,” Coleman admitted. “Some folks use allyship when they want to.”
Overall, though, “we’ve seen an uptick in support throughout the year,” he said. “More people are showing up and out, including allies.”
In Tennessee, where a federal judge recently rejected a drag ban that state Republicans enacted earlier this year, corporate backing for Memphis’s Mid-South Pride hasn’t suffered.
“We had issues,” festival director Vanessa Rodley said in an email, but after the judge temporarily blocked the measure from taking effect in late March, “we saw a wave of new sponsors that wanted to show support. There are a few we never got back, but thanks to our community stepping up and new sponsors, we were able to make it.”
A handful of major brands, including Kroger and Terminix, didn’t return as Mid-South Pride sponsors after making $7,500 and $3,500 contributions, respectively, in 2022, the group’s public sponsor listsin recent years show.
But others, such as Nike, Ford, Charles Schwab and Tito’s Vodka, either matched or upped their previous-year investments, which ranged from $5,000 to $10,000 apiece. And regional businesses, including a mortgage brokerage and a dentistry practice, jumped in this year with $5,000 sponsorships.
A Wells Fargo spokesperson said the bank “is a longstanding supporter of the LGBTQ+ community” and still “sponsoring parades in cities across the country.”
After being contacted, a Kroger spokesperson said the grocery chain “discovered a recent retirement left the [Memphis] parade without a contact at the company” and reached out to Mid-South Pride organizers. “We provided a contact from which to request support for this year or a future event.”
Some advocates warn that any pullback in the visibility of corporate support during Pride Month — especially by the most well-known brands — risks signaling that LGTBQ consumers are expendable. Others have long called for fewer rainbow-slathered logos and more substantive, if quieter, support from private-sector allies.
“Visibility is the least important,” said Bruce Starr, CEO of the marketing agency BMF. “What are you actually donating and giving” to support LGBTQ causes year-round matters more, he said.
In Auburn, Alabama, Pride on the Plains President Seth McCollough said one of the group’s three corporate sponsors gave money this year but asked to not be thanked or recognized publicly.
“It was kind of surprising to me,” McCollough said, but added, “I guess I understand where they are coming from.”
Among them is Target, which drew national attention for pulling some Pride merchandise last month after store employees were threatened. The retailer continues to be a top sponsor and provides volunteers to Pride on the Plains, McCollough said. But while big businesses can often contribute larger sums, the group relies on smaller companies for most of its funding anyway.
Many Pride celebrations facing difficulties are in the Midwest and South, regions that have seen a wave of Republican-led anti-LGBTQ legislation this year. Organizers in bluer states haven’t experienced much difference.
Pride officials in New York City, home to the first Pride March, in June 1970, said this year would be on par with last in terms of arranging sponsors and security. But Pride organizers in Charleston, South Carolina, said they’ve seen a significant drop in funds and sponsorships post-pandemic, after setting records in 2019.
Kendra Johnson, executive director of Equality NC, said threats against the community and Pride events have risen dramatically throughout North Carolina.
“I’m 52 — I’ve never seen it like this,” Johnson said, citing threats of violence and cases in which she said organizers were doxed. Johnson’s LGBTQ advocacy group doesn’t plan Pride festivities, but she said some organizers in the state have told her of sponsors pulling out of local events.
Ron deHarte, co-president of the United States Association of Prides, an umbrella group representing nearly 100 organizers across the country, acknowledged that many groups face growing challenges.
“We’re hearing that there are a few organizations that have made their own decision to modify their programs or cancel based on legislation, out of fear of government action” by some state authorities, he said.
But many sponsors remain committed after years of support for the LGBTQ community, despite the criticism that often comes with it. Tense political climates, as well as presidential election years, tend to drive enthusiasm and attendance at Pride celebrations because many people become more engaged, deHarte said.
“This certainly isn’t the worst we’ve seen,” he said, “and we’ve continued to survive for decades.”