Everybody’s Business

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Meet the Conservative Think Tank Leading America’s Anti-DEI Movement

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Over the past five years, corporate America has abandoned diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices en masse, with the crusade to roll back these efforts only ramping up since Trump’s reelection. A key factor fueling these rollbacks is shareholder proposals. Over the last year, Apple, Alphabet, Netflix, JPMorganChase, PayPal, Costco, Goldman Sachs, Berkshire Hathaway, Walmart, Kroger and Coca-Cola have all received proposals to review or report on DEI policies, cut connections with LGBTQ advocacy organizations or cease DEI efforts altogether. While it may seem like there are many forces behind these proposals, they were all submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank commonly referred to as the National […]

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Gay weddings have boosted state and local economies by $6 billion since marriage equality

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Wedding spending by same-sex couples and their out-of-state guests has boosted state and local economies by approximately $5.9 billion over the past 10 years, a new study has found. There are an estimated 823,000 same-sex couples in the U.S., according to a recent report from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, and more than 591,000 have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized marriage equality nationwide. About 80 percent of married couples (473,000 couples) celebrated with a wedding or other events. At the average $8,546 spent per wedding, these couples have spent approximately $4.9 billion on their celebrations, with […]

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Converse celebrates 10 years of Pride collections with powerful “Proud to Be” campaign

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Converse has long been known for its fantastic Pride collections. The iconic shoe brand has celebrated Pride Month with rainbow footwear every year since 2015. This year, the company is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of showing its Pride. “Converse has always stood with the bold, the daring, and the unapologetic,” the website says. “For our 2025 ‘Proud to Be’ celebration, we’re not looking back, we’re lighting the way forward towards a future of love and joy for everyone.”  The brand also invited members of past Pride campaigns to write love letters to their future selves.  “I know that you are somewhere creating […]

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Make Meta Safe: New Report Finds Increase in Harmful Content Targeting Marginalized Groups Following Policy Rollbacks

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On January 7, 2025, Meta announced sweeping rollbacks to its content moderation policies across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — ending third-party fact-checking in the U.S. and weakening its hate-speech policies worldwide. Additionally, the company announced that it would halt “proactive” enforcement of some policies on harmful content, notably hate speech. As noted in GLAAD’s 2025 Social Media Safety Index, the rollbacks include new exceptions expressly allowing anti-LGBTQ hate speech, such as stating that LGBTQ people are “abnormal” and “mentally ill,” as well as Meta’s own use of anti-LGBTQ language (referring to LGBTQ people using the terms “homosexuality” and “transgenderism” in its updated hate speech […]

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Levi’s releases Pride Collection designed by LGBTQ+ people

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Levi’s has released its annual Pride Collection along with a promotional video entitled “Meet You in the Park.” “We’re taught to not take up space, we’re taught to be quiet,” a voiceover says in the ad, which doesn’t explicitly mention LGBTQ+ identities. “But there’s something about being in your body that makes you want to just like be proud and take up that space.” The collection itself is designed by LGBTQ+ people and includes rainbow colors and triangles, symbols associated with the LGBTQ+ community. “This year, our Pride collection shines a light on togetherness and the importance of safe spaces […]

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BarkBox CEO apologizes for leaked message exposing paused Pride ads — but they’re still paused

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BarkBox’s CEO is “deeply sorry” for a leaked message that revealed the company’s plans to forgo advertising for its LGBTQ+ Pride collection — but they appear to have followed through on those plans.  The dog product subscription service came under fire earlier this week after a message from an employee was shared on social media, exposing the company’s intentions to “pause all paid ads and lifestyle marketing pushes for the Pride kit effective immediately.” The author referred to LGBTQ+ existence as “another politically charged symbol,” comparing it to being a supporter of Donald Trump.  “While celebrating Pride is something we may value, we need to acknowledge […]

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Trans former Wikimedia employee says abuse at the nonprofit is “organization wide”

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A trans software engineer fired by Wikipedia is speaking out after she filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit website claiming wrongful termination. Kayla Mae said that the “bigotry” described in her suit is “organization wide” and that most of her former colleagues “are as against the problems in leadership as I was.” “Unfortunately, I became the squeaky wheel for management to retaliate against by reporting the discrimination,” Mae wrote on Reddit, “instead of quietly leaving like others did.” Mae was hired in 2022 by the Wikimedia Foundation, the website’s parent organization, as a software engineer in a remote role based […]

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J.K. Rowling uses Harry Potter wealth to fund anti-transgender organization

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J.K. Rowling is using her wealth attained from the Harry Potter series to create an organization dedicated to removing transgender people’s rights “in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces.” The author announced in a Saturday post to X, formerly Twitter, that she would be founding the J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, using her personal fortune. The website for the group states that it “offers legal funding support to individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces.” “I looked into all options and a private fund is the most efficient, streamlined way for me […]

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These 14 corporations have stopped or scaled back sponsorship of LGBTQ+ Pride events

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When corporations got rid of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, many also axed their commitments to LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Even before Donald Trump’s executive orders terminating all DEI positions in the federal government, dozens of major companies had already abandoned their practices. Many made their decisions after conservatives online specifically targeted them for their policies and threatened boycotts, with failed filmmaker turned failed congressional candidate Robby Starbuck taking credit for spearheading the movement. This withdrawal didn’t just encompass inclusive work environments and hiring practices, or participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index — in abandoning DEI, companies also ceased many of their community partnerships. This included small businesses, […]

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GLAAD’s Social Media Safety Index Unveils How Tech Companies Intentionally Rolled Back Safety Policies For LGBTQ People

GLAAD has announced the findings of its fifth annual Social Media Safety Index (SMSI), an annual report on LGBTQ safety, privacy, and expression online. The in-depth report analyzes six major social media platforms — TikTok, YouTube, X, and Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — across 14 indicators that address a range of issues affecting LGBTQ people online including data privacy, content moderation, workforce diversity, and more. All companies are failing to meet basic standards across most safety metrics on the SMSI scorecard. Read the full report. Offering a quantitative ranking and also highlighting LGBTQ safety policy rollbacks from major platforms, the report […]

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