GLAAD Research Shows Most Support Corporate Support of Pride

May 23, 2025
HANK ORSO

With Pride just around the corner we get the parades and celebrations, protests and politics. We also get the corporate sponsors wagging their support for the LGBTQ+ community. But with political pressure mounting from the current administration over DEI initiatives and their dislike of all things diverse, we've seen a pullback in corporate sponsorship of Pride events from some major players. So how does the average American feel about the connection between corporatations' support of the queer community? It turns out they overwhelmingly support it, based on new research just released by GLAAD.

According to their research poll performed in connection with Ipsos this past April, a surprising 71% of Americans believe that stores should be able to show support if they so choose, and "70% of Americans say knowing a brand/store offers LGBTQ Pride collections/merchandise either has a positive impact or no impact on their purchasing decisions" according to an email we received from The Washington Blade. What this means is that the negative TikTok vids and comments you see of Robert James Ritchie (Kid Rock) shooting up a case of Bud Light because he's triggered by trans people do not reflect the views and opinions of most other Americans.

In an interview with The Advocate, GLAAD President and CEO advises that “The big headline is that Americans think it’s important to be inclusive, to include LGBTQ people, and to include all people. When they see companies do that, they think they run a good company. They take care of their employees, and they take care of their consumers.”

Unfortunately, corporate America, especially those who have stood as "allies" during Pride parades past with generous sponsorships, have pulled back on that funding this year. The Advocate stated research from PR Daily and Gravity Research that 39% of Fortune 500 and Global 10oo exes plan to scale back funds previously directed towards Pride events. The NYTimes reported that 25% of corporate sponsors to New York Pride have cut or shrunk their previous contributions. We've already seen this with companies like Target and Bud Light, which have bowed to conservative pressure over DEI stances for fear of retaliation by Trump's administration.

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And we've seen how good that's worked out for them! Sales were down in Target stores 3.8% in the first quarter of this year, as compared to the same time last year. “Fewer customers visited Target and spent less when they shopped,” CNN notes. “Target also cut its financial outlook, a sign Target’s problems won’t go away quickly. The company expects sales to decline by low single-digits this year.” Their stock was down 37% in the past year, with CEO Brian Cornell citing their DEI ditch as one of the factors.

The GLAAD research also looked at the growing minority populations and their views. 64% of Black Americans and 55% of Hispanic Americans say they "are comfortable" with their favorite brands showing public support of the LGBTQ+ community. This is significant because, as the GLAAD research stated, in 2022, the purchasing power of LGBTQ consumers was estimated to be 1.4 trillion. The purchasing power of Black consumers is estimated to reach $1.7 trillion by 2030, and the Hispanic population has grown by 85 percent since 2000.

So while corporate sponsorship and front-facing support is waning for now, most Americans believe that such a pull-back is bad for business. As their research shows, 91% of non-LGBTQ Americans agree that LGBTQ people should have the freedom to live their life and not be discriminated against (GLAAD) and 55% of non-LGBTQ adults say companies/brands should support the LGBTQ community all year, not just during Pride month (MRI-Simmons).

In a nutshell, most Americans have our backs, if the corporations don't.

But then, did they ever really? Sure, they were there in the good years, but the moment the chips are down, they show their true colors. (Sorry, Cyndi Lauper.)