Despite Backlash, Companies Still Benefit From Being Pro-LGBTQ

Almost 500 bills restricting LGBTQ rights have been introduced in the US this year, more than in the last five years combined. Eighty-six have passed. Rhetoric against the community is growing, with hate speech surging on social media in the wake of these restrictive laws. “That’s really dangerous territory when you’re demonizing a certain group of people to that extent,” says Maeve DuVally, principal of consulting firm Glasheen & Co. “It leads to violence against us.”

For companies with pro-LGBTQ policies, it’s no longer a question of whether they’ll face conservative backlash, but when. Target Corp. suffered a misinformation campaign when bigots claimed it was selling “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for trans children. It wasn’t, but that didn’t stop people from destroying Pride displays and harassing workers. An Instagram partnership with influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked such anti-trans furor that Bud Light’s US sales briefly dropped 18%.