Big Businesses Scale Back Public Support for Pride Amid Political Shifts
A Guardian analysis of 20 top companies—10 from the UK and 10 from the US by market capitalization—reveals a significant decline in Pride-related social media posts from 2023 to 2025. Among UK firms, posts fell sharply from 52 in 2023 to 27 in 2024 and just 4 in 2025, representing a 92% drop. US companies posted 39 Pride items in 2023, declining to 21 in 2024 and 18 in 2025, a 54% decrease, with Apple the only US company to increase posts by 22% over this period.
The declines correspond with political changes, notably 2025 US executive orders overturning federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. These shifts prompted many firms to rebrand and reduce their fairness policies publicly. UK companies analyzed include Arm Holdings, AstraZeneca, GSK, British American Tobacco, HSBC, Linde, Rolls-Royce, Shell, and Unilever. US companies include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Broadcom, Eli Lilly, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.
HSBC remained the most active UK brand on Pride throughout this period, although its posts dropped by approximately 94%. AstraZeneca, Shell, and Unilever were among the least likely to post about Pride from 2023 to 2025. Despite the drop in visible support, many companies retained statements of ongoing commitment to inclusion and Pride networks, emphasizing that social media posts do not fully reflect their broader DEI efforts.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups warn that reduced visibility amid a hostile political climate could undermine progress made in recent years. Some observers suggest that day-to-day actions and policies are stronger indicators of companies’ commitment to LGBTQ+ rights than public-facing logos or campaigns.
