What ‘Corporate Pride’ Got Wrong All Along 

As a child of the ’80s and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, every June I get a bit nostalgic. I get to observe my LGBTQ+ friends and broader network be a bit more themselves and unabashedly queer. And they do this, consciously or unconsciously, because it’s Pride Month and rainbows are popping up everywhere, from our workplaces to our banks to our FYPs and newsfeeds. 

I realize now this nostalgia comes from being a closeted teenager growing up in central Florida, hoping to one day (as RuPaul says) “find my tribe” and connect with my LGBTQ+ chosen family. But twenty years ago, it was much more difficult to understand what this “family” would look like. I didn’t have access to seeing myself, and others like me, represented as loudly and proudly as we are today. And the representation I did have was frankly questionable. 

But all that’s changed. Youth today beginning the process—and yes, it is a process—of discovering their gender identity and sexual orientation are far more equipped with terminology and resources to help them. Thanks to tiny computers in the palms of their hands, most have access to different forms of media to teach them words like transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming—helping them unpack what they’re experiencing in their bodies.

So when I see or attend a community Pride event, be it big and flashy or in a small town, I can’t help but get nostalgic and feel very grateful and proud. And while the access LGBTQ+ youth have today is rewarding for many reasons, it’s not without consequences.

Now that LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. are more visible, we are also being targeted by far-right extremists, wielding a decades-old playbook that has been used to attack this community and spread disinformation about us since before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Except now, this playbook is stronger than ever—ironically due to many of the same online tools that give LGBTQ+ teens the resources they need.

To be clear, these threats are disproportionately affecting our transgender community members and LGBTQ+ youth in need of access to gender-affirming care. A decade after Time declared a “Transgender Tipping Point” in a landmark cover story profiling Laverne Cox that sent shockwaves across the media world, trans people are both more visible and more vulnerable. Today, trans people are being scapegoated by local leaders across the U.S. and defamed by many media outlets daily. And in some states, the art form of drag—which is similarly more mainstream thanks to the unprecedented success of RuPaul’s Drag Race—is being used to roll back the rights of trans people. 

According to a Gallup poll released earlier this year, the trans community represents less than 1% of the U.S. population. It’s important to note that demographic snapshots like this—polling respondents on their identities—are likely to underrepresent LGBTQ+ community members statistically. But regardless, the trans community is still a small percentage of our population, making them particularly vulnerable to disinformation. 

So what about Corporate Pride? 

Aside from my annual dose of nostalgia, Pride Month has also represented my “busy season” at work. For over a decade, I’ve been responsible for working with brands and organizations on how best to represent, support, market to or communicate with the LGBTQ+ community while employed at LGBTQ+ media organizations.

Throughout the years, I’ve logged countless hours advising professionals on how their company can simultaneously act as a responsible employer to their LGBTQ+ workforce and market to consumers who are increasingly seeking more “personal emotional value” from brands. I’ve observed firsthand the bandwagon effect known as “rainbow capitalism” that followed the 2015 Supreme Court Marriage Equality ruling. And year over year I’ve witnessed the rising tension between corporate-sponsored Pride events and more grassroots and advocacy-oriented community marches focused on raising awareness of important issues. 

Sadly, a great deal of my work over the past few years has also included necessary support to help brands avoid becoming the next target of the same far-right playbook that is now attempting to make Pride campaigns “toxic for brands“—as part of a larger effort to erase the hard-fought visibility the trans community has rightfully earned. 

Don’t get me wrong—I love what I do, especially because it means I’m typically working with other LGBTQ+ community members as partners, colleagues and friends. But reflecting on all this work, especially now, when we’re seeing numerous headlines calling out brands for backpedaling or downplaying their Pride efforts, I’m calling it: Corporate Pride needs a rebrand.

So let’s talk about Corporate Allyship. 

On top of my years of consulting experience, my guidance is informed by decades of lived experience, learning and unlearning from my queer peers, long before I started doing this work professionally.

Start with your LGBTQ+ employees 

This is not the most original advice, but I believe it’s the most important, so it’s No. 1. Any organization considering a public display of support for the LGBTQ+ community or an acknowledgment of Pride Month must first look inward and ensure they have adequate and inclusive protections for their LGBTQ+ employees. This type of culture change work takes effort, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but reputable organizations like Out & Equal can help you navigate creating a culture of belonging.

For organizations already engaged in this work, be sure to consult with your LGBTQ+ employee resource group regularly. But ensure they are opting in to support these efforts and the emotional labor of any support is taken into consideration. And never put a single individual or small group in a position to represent the views and opinions of this broad and diverse community. 

Know your audience and plan for some degree of backlash 

Understanding your consumers and other stakeholders, especially employees, is critical to ensuring an LGBTQ+ inclusive initiative will be received positively. Decision-makers should acknowledge the unique positioning of their brand and parent company and allow that to guide their engagement strategy while avoiding drawing false parallels to recent high-profile brand controversies. 

Accept that some degree of backlash will be inevitable for brands creating LGBTQ+ inclusive content—before, during and after Pride Month. Just as anti-LGBTQ+ legislative efforts are disproportionately targeting trans people right now, brands that support trans people are also feeling the heat. But abandoning support for the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ+ community is not the right answer. You just need a new strategy on how to maintain that support while accounting for the safety of your LGBTQ+ employees and the community members you partner with. 

It’s OK to be quieter in June, as long as you’re louder July through May 

Brands downplaying their Pride efforts certainly don’t look great for their LGBTQ+ consumers. But what could make your brand appeal to LGBTQ+ and allied consumers even more than a Pride campaign? Sustained community support year-round.

LGBTQ+ community members paying attention the past decade have certainly felt skeptical bearing witness to the latest trends of cliché rainbow marketing in June, flashy PR campaigns with questionable representation, and ad spends for said campaigns that far outweigh the charitable donations linked to those same efforts. So give the community what they want. Show up for us throughout the other 11 months of the year, especially when and where we need it most. The springtime for state-wide legislative sessions is an excellent place to start. 

Bring in the right partners to add credibility 

LGBTQ+ community organizations have become status quo for branded Pride efforts that want to avoid the perception of rainbow washing. Consumers and media alike now expect to see charitable donations to such nonprofit organizations when examining Pride products or campaigns. 

I know firsthand, that there are many ways to involve or embed charitable partners—both at the local and national level—but for them to be truly impactful, bring them into the work as early as possible and compensate accordingly. Partners should also be granted the opportunity to inform and guide the work with community insights that can be applied to the campaign strategy and execution.

Let purpose lead the work 

Lastly, going forward, let’s make sure community impact is a clear and established goal of our work. Start with the goal of addressing the real issues facing LGBTQ+ people today, identify creative ways to help, and apply that to your organization’s unique positioning and ability to drive impact. By centering purpose as a guiding principle, it will help you build credibility with LGBTQ+ people that will earn value long after Pride merch, press impressions and product sales are forgotten. 

And to my LGBTQ+ peers also in positions to influence this work: I hope you push for work that includes allyship at the intersections of race, gender, class, age, immigration status, religion, ethnicity and ability. If your privilege grants you access to a room that other LGBTQ+ folks aren’t invited into (as mine has countless times), I hope you stop and think about how you can be a proxy for them. Or even better, find a way to welcome them in. It will only make the work more authentic and impactful. 

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, nor would I recommend you rely solely on the recommendation of one cis white gay man to guide your ongoing efforts on inclusive campaigns. That’s just a bad strategy. But it is my best advice for any business leader whose company has publicly claimed allyship but now may be questioning how to proceed.

I’m not saying the journey to authentic Corporate Allyship will be easy. It will take time to get it right. But trust me, it’s worth it. That same Gallup poll that found the trans community represents 1% of the U.S. population also found that younger generations are significantly more likely to identify as LGBTQ+. And they want to see real allyship more than they want branded rainbow swag in June.