Companies are spending on Pride again—but not like they used to

As companies slowed their DEI commitments over the last few years—at least publicly—many of them made noticeable cuts to one aspect of their diversity and inclusion programs. A number of companies, among them Walmart and McDonald’s, dropped out of the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, an annual ranking of workplace inclusion that employers once touted. Some employers also stopped sponsoring Pride events. In 2025, 39 of companies surveyed by the research insights firm Gravity Research said they intended to pull back on any engagements with Pride. Perhaps most notably, Target—which has long sold a wide variety of Pride merchandise—has culled its collection, changing the prominent placement of Pride items or only stocking them in certain stores. With Pride month well underway, however, corporate America seems to be showing a renewed interest in supporting LGBTQ+ workers. While companies are still hesitant to openly pledge their support for Pride events, corporate sponsorships seem to be making a comeback. Bloomberg reported this week that companies like Mastercard, which had previously been a major sponsor of the NYC Pride March, are now ramping up their spending, footing the bill for about a hundred employees to join Pride events. Target has returned as a platinum sponsor of NYC Pride, after opting to be a silent partner last year. The uptick in spending has been noted by Pride organizers, who have reported seeing increased investment from the business community. The organization behind the NYC Pride March has almost a dozen more sponsors than in 2025, according to Bloomberg—quite a turnaround from a year when there was a shortage of 750,000 after losing top-tier sponsors. In 2025, organizers around the country reportedly faced budget issues as donors dropped out. Some companies still provided funding, but asked not to be named publicly. Despite this resurgence, corporate spending on Pride is not what it used to be. While some companies have returned to the fore and others—like Marriott and L’Oreal—have remained major corporate sponsors, financial commitments to Pride are still uneven. Per a Wall Street Journal report, organizers say sponsorship has not returned to the level seen in 2019, with companies like Starbucks and Accenture declining this year to offer full-throated support in cities like Seattle and San Francisco. Some federal agencies and contractors have also stayed away from Pride events in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, according to the Journal. This reticence is not entirely surprising, given the continued threat of legal action and government scrutiny under the Trump administration. The forces that have made companies reluctant to forcefully support LGBTQ+ issues still loom large—and high-profile cases like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s investigation into Nike only serve to further discourage companies from being outspoken about their DEI programs, even when they remain intact. Many companies are also concerned about becoming the target of conservative activists like Robby Starbuck, whose anti-DEI campaigns across social media helped catalyze policy changes at a number of companies. What’s more, recent Gallup data shows that support for the LGBTQ+ community is the lowest it has been in years. While a majority of Americans still back same-sex marriage, the figure has dipped to 65, down six percentage points since 2023. Among Republicans, in particular, there has been a marked dropoff, from 55 to 37 in favor of same-sex marriage. The same is true of how Americans perceive the morality of queer relationships: About 62 believe gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable, down from 71 just a few years ago. Sentiment has changed more drastically for Republicans, from 56 to 35. As Fast Company has reported, this shift is already playing out in workplaces, as some LGBTQ+ employees are now reconsidering how much they disclose at work, or choosing to hide their identity altogether. A survey by the Human Rights Campaign found that nearly half of LGBTQ+ adults are less out than they were just a year prior, including in the workplace. There are real consequences when companies stop showing support for these causes, financially or otherwise—and workers end up paying the price.