Four Tips for Authentic Business Leadership During Pride 2025

Key Points

Upcoming Pride celebrations will take place in the context of ongoing obstacles to hard-earned progress on equality for all, including the LGBTIQ+ community.
While some companies have chosen to limit or end their LGBTIQ+ equality efforts in the face of recent challenges, inclusive business practices remain a priority for many companies, often guided by their own unique operational posture and the media/risk tolerance of their leaders.
Considering the risk-averse environment in which many business practitioners may find themselves, BSR shares four practical tips for company engagement on LGBTIQ+ equality efforts.

This June’s Pride celebrations will occur as LGBTIQ+ equality advocates and inclusive business practitioners confront ongoing challenges to hard-earned progress that have raised the stakes of private-sector engagement.

This is especially true in the U.S., where federal research programs benefitting LGBTIQ+ people have already been cut by nearly a billion dollars. The future of preventative health care programs supporting LGBTIQ+ people is at risk, given longstanding efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and legal rights and protections related to dignity, safety, and healthcare of transgender people are being litigated in U.S. courts.

Some companies have limited their public communications or otherwise ended voluntary LGBTQI+ programs, including philanthropic grants, event sponsorships, and promotion of voluntary performance standards, efforts that were increasingly commonplace prior to the recent resurgent wave of anti-LGBTIQ+ political advocacy. Furthermore, social media campaigns driven by conservative “influencers” have undercut some business relationships with their core consumers, attacking brands for their inclusive advertising and/or retail choices. Special interest groups have instigated legal challenges to business’ DEI programs, creating unfavorable media attention and leading to uncertainty on company commitment to building organizations, products, and services that can meet the needs of their diverse consumers and stakeholders.

Still, there’s evidence that LGBTIQ+ equality and inclusive business practices remain a business priority even as some companies scale back. Participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index increased over the last year in spite of some high-profile withdrawals from the effort in the fall. More and more, business shareholders have voted to uphold diversity programs and underscore the importance of inclusion despite recent legal flashpoints and an effort by federal officials to cripple these programs through executive orders and allegations of illegality. Though company sponsorship of Pride festivals is expected to lag overall, a majority of corporations have recently reported little to no change in their expected participation.

In this landscape, business actions on LGBTIQ+ equality efforts appear to be fueled less by sector-wide alignment and more by each company’s unique operational posture and the media/risk tolerance of its leaders. It is understandable, then, that many business practitioners, including communication, inclusion, human resources, and government affairs leads alike, may be questioning what current expectations or best practices they might advance within their company. Considering the risk-averse environment in which many business practitioners may find themselves, we share four practical tips for LGBTIQ+ engagement for the 2025 Pride season and beyond.

Celebrate LGBTIQ+ Pride, even if it means doing so less publicly or with fewer resources. Like other cultural, civic, and social commemorations, LGBTIQ+ Pride is an opportunity for businesses to underscore its inclusive values and appreciate broader business success in the context of the contributions of its diverse leadership and workforce. It also offers businesses a chance to showcase positive impacts in communities where they are headquartered and operate more broadly. This remains true despite current sociopolitical headwinds. Indeed, even some companies that have made headlines for reported cuts to these engagements have privately indicated their intent to support Pride observances through more local sponsorships, events, and gatherings, yet with less budget, public fanfare, or formality. Ultimately, your company might choose to observe this Pride season with fewer resources and with greater awareness of potential scrutiny and/or worker safety risks. Still, these concerns should not preclude your company and your workers from engaging in lawful activities that help promote a culture of inclusion and positive impact, even if such activities are tailored to your specific circumstances and operational footprint.
Share updated communications and policy materials, acknowledging your company’s responsibility for ensuring a workplace free from LGBTIQ+ discrimination and harassment. Include relevant global and local policies that guide your company’s efforts to uphold that responsibility. Your current employees and teams likely include LGBTIQ+ individuals or individuals who have loved ones who are directly impacted by social, legal, and cultural debates and/or shifting policies focused on LGBTIQ+ equality. Via diversity, legal, or communications officers, ensure clarity about your company’s nondiscrimination and harassment expectations and policies, as well as the processes/infrastructure that are in place to manage potential issues. The UN Standards of Conduct for Business Tackling Discrimination Against LGBTIQ+ People offers guidance for global businesses navigating wide-ranging expectations, and sometimes conflicting jurisdictional laws, for LGBTIQ+ workplace, marketplace, and community standards.
Invite leaders of regional/local business headquarters and workforce volunteer coordinators to uplift local direct service/volunteer organizations providing general support to LGBTIQ+ workers and their families in communities touched by your business’ operations. Data from past few years, including the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professional’s Annual CSR Insights Report, has repeatedly indicated that employee volunteerism and issue-focused pro-bono engagement is both a norm and increasing throughout the private sector. Just as donation drives like Giving Tuesday raises billions in annual donations to nonprofits around the globe, Pride is a great opportunity for businesses to highlight employer benefits, including paid time-off for volunteerism, matched donations, and other community-sponsored activities that may benefit LGBTIQ+ community members, including your company’s workers and their families. Indeed, some of your workers may be especially keen to find volunteer activities or donation drives given the current climate. Driving awareness for such opportunities through regional/local leaders who may be able to share vetted information may be a great way to ensure your company enables its teams to align their efforts with local dynamics in place of overcompensating for broad-based concerns that may be best navigated at the corporate level.
Create informational resources that can help address how your company may respond to various LGBTIQ+-related cases expected from the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming weeks. In the coming weeks, several Supreme Court decisions are anticipated on litigation that will directly/indirectly affect LGBTIQ+ individuals and families. From national coverage of preventative care treatments, including HIV and breast cancer medications, to the scope of certain healthcare programs available to transgender youth, some cases may lead to questions about the consistency or coverage provided in employee benefits and healthcare plans. Here, your company’s human resources team might host or commission an informational webinar, develop FAQ documents, and/or establish a small team/individual as the main point of contact for inquiries on any legal changes affecting LGBTIQ+ workers.

There is a lot of room for ambitious leadership for business engagement on LGBTIQ+ equality efforts, not only in the U.S. but globally as well. For more information on how your company can support LGBTIQ+ workers and communities, please reach out to BSR’s Inclusive Business team and explore the team’s latest insights on the BSR Member Portal.

This article was originally published at the BSR website "Sustainability Insights" and is written by Jarrid Green, Director, Inclusive Business and Richard Wingfield, Director Technology Sectors at BSR.