It’s Not About Rainbows — How Companies Can Be Better LGBTQ Allies

I’m sick of rainbows.

And not because I almost got hit by a car trying to take a picture of one.

Don’t get me wrong—rainbows are pretty. But I’m sick of almost drowning in June’s rainbow tide, only to experience an absolute drought the rest of the year.

July 1st is the worst. Like clockwork, Pride flags get taken down and logos go back to their original colors.

If you haven’t experienced the feeling, imagine Christmas. Weeks of Christmas music, decorations and family time become cold leftovers, hangovers and tight pants as soon as December 26th hits.

When I see rainbows in June, whether they’re flags, limited-edition Pride rosé or the rainbow-fied Linkedin logo, my community is center stage. It feels like people care about our issues. Like we can make progress.

And it's true—LGBTQ issues do get more attention in June. But as soon as the rainbows get tucked away, so does the momentum.

And that’s the problem—rainbows look great, but they do nothing by themselves.

I’ll admit, some companies with rainbow-heavy Pride campaigns are also doing the work to advance LGBTQ rights, but there are a lot more using rainbows just to appear woke.

But LGBTQ consumers are getting smarter. A 2019 Reboot Online study found one in 10 LGBTQ people avoided buying Pride products for fear of being exploited.

This year in particular showed that Pride goes way beyond rainbows. With Pride parades and events cancelled due to COVID, there was an unprecedented demand for online Pride events. Pride was about conversations, not bacchanalian parties.

Virtual events showed that Pride doesn’t need rainbows to be successful.

The Tide Was Already Turning

Even before COVID turned the world upside down, the LGBTQ community was demanding more from Pride.

• Activist Evan Greer states “Pride is not about spending money with corporations that are nicest to us.” Instead, it should be a time to address the issues impacting the most vulnerable members of our community.

• WriterJohn Paul Brammer criticizes corporations for pricing out the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ community.

• Labor rights specialist Vincent DeLaurentis takes issue with corporations preaching equality, all while exploiting minority and queer workers to make Pride products.

Reboot's study asked the LGBTQ community how they feel about money generated from Pride campaigns. Eighty-seven percent stated that all corporations should donate to relevant charities. They even use the term rainbow capitalism to describe the ones that don’t.

Even more telling, 96% of respondents said corporations should “do more throughout the year to help LGBTQ causes, rather than just in Pride month.”

Millennials and Gen Z’s are particularly aware of rainbow washing and aren’t shy about calling out brands co-opting Pride for their own gains.

Critics say things like:

“Stunning revelations, companies care almost exclusively about making money?”

and

“Are you seriously complaining about all of these huge mainstream companies agreeing with you?”

(Both comments from this video).

But they’re missing the mark.

I know corporations exist to make money. That’s fine. Profits aren’t the problem, profiteering is. Wanting more authenticity from Pride campaigns isn’t asking too much.

We’re happy to see more and more corporations (appear) to support us. But again, we’re asking for real engagement, rather than a fancy campaign—in fact, we’d prefer the former.

What Corporations Should Do

Should companies give up rainbows all together? No way! But companies need to go a step further. Making a rainbow logo or t-shirt is easy. Making a difference for LGBTQ people is challenging, but actually has an impact.

Here are some suggestions for companies committed to being LGBTQ allies.

Review company policies

Attend parades and run a Pride campaign, but also use June to review company policies and practices by:

• Establishing and/or reviewing healthcare and parental leave benefits

• Funding LGBTQ resource groups and ally programs

• Hiring diverse leadership

• Donating to LGBTQ organizations

• Conducting diversity training

Be a vocal ally

Being an ally is not about box-checking. It’s about improving life for LGBTQ employees. Organization-wide initiatives are part of that, but small, everyday displays of support are what being an ally is all about. As an organization think about changes like:

• Allowing employees to use the restroom they choose or having gender-neutral restrooms

• Encouraging all employees to add their preferred pronouns email signatures and business cards

• Inviting LGBTQ employees to share their experiences and making improvements based on their feedback

Be Inclusive and Representative in Promotional Campaigns

The LGBTQ community has an interesting relationship with advertising. We’ve been ignored, mocked, hinted at, tolerated. Now we’re seeing some actual gay people in advertising. It’s true that brands are doing a much better job of including diverse representations in their ads, but I want to push them to do more.

Notice how I said gay and not LGBTQ? That was intentional.

LGBTQ advertising features a lot of cis-gendered white men with six-packs. And not much else. It’s a step forward, but what about the lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, asexuals? As a bisexual woman, I’m particularly sensitive to this because I rarely see images of myself in media.

Some brands are nailing it, like this Gillette ad featuring a transman shaving for the first time with his father’s support. And more groups are trying to make stock photography more inclusive. But these exceptions prove how far advertising is from true inclusivity and diversity.

Be Consistent and Confident

Whenever organizations release LGBTQ messaging or advertising, there’s a risk of backlash. Some well-meaning corporations retract statements out of fear for their bottom line. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) says that’s a risky move. They state “modifying or withdrawing ads after negative criticism from conservative groups suggests waffling and alienates LGBTQ consumers.” However, they acknowledge being consistent and confident in LGBTQ messaging is one of the most challenging tasks for organizations.

Take a recent example from Hallmark. When anti-LGBTQ group One Million Moms put pressure on Hallmark to remove ads featuring a lesbian wedding, the company complied. After Hallmark pulled the ads, the LGBTQ community showed its outrage on Twitter. The hashtag #boycotthallmark was used over 8,000 times in two days.

Amidst the backlash, the media giant put the ads back on air and issued an apology for removing them in the first place.

I hope Hallmark learned from their mistake, but as an LGBTQ consumer, I’ve lost faith. They seem to react to whoever is shouting the loudest and not to basic human decency.

Having a plan to handle backlash helps you avoid Hallmark’s mistakes. The best thing to do, according to HRC, is to respond to criticism with business rationales, such as diversity and serving the bottom line, rather than engaging in debates.

Final Thoughts

I started this post saying that I’m sick of rainbows, but that’s not fair. I love rainbows. They’re a powerful symbol that unites the LGBTQ community. I am sick of corporations borrowing them when it’s convenient, just to see them tucked away every year. Using our symbol should be a way to support the LGBTQ community, not a means to cash in.

Ultimately, supporting us doesn’t have anything to do with rainbows. It’s about creating inclusive workplaces, being committed allies and having diverse representation in advertising. Most of all, it’s about being consistent and confident in all initiatives.

Companies that do all of that can feel free (and proud) to stick in a rainbow every now and then.