It's Pride Month: 3 Ways Companies Are Showing Support for the LGBTQ Community

In 2000, Bill Clinton declared June as the first ever Pride Month to recognize and celebrate the progress behind the rights of the gay and lesbian communities since the Stonewall Riots of 1969. This movement progressed in 2009 when Obama expanded Pride Month to include the bisexual and transgender communities as well.

Within the last few years, we are seeing more companies working on improving their Diversity and Inclusion hiring specifically when it comes to the LGBTQ community. And, if you’re on social media, you’ll see some companies are taking part in the movement and showing their love and support this month.

Here’s a look at three ways companies are showing advocacy for the LGBTQ community.

PVH Supports Pride Events Around the World

PVH Corporation, parent company of well-known brands like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Speedo, announced that it will be supporting Pride events around the world – most notably as a Platinum Level Sponsor of the NYC Pride March on June 24th.

This isn’t the first time that PVH has made the decision to boldly support the LGBTQ community through Pride event sponsorship. Their brands are also taking steps to show support through limited -edition Pride-themed apparel. For example, Speedo is selling a shirt that states “No Matter Which Lane You Swim.”

Stoli Honors Harvey Milk in a Couple of Big Ways

Stoli, a well -known vodka brand, released a special and limited -edition bottle design with Harvey Milk on it. Milk was a renown gay activist in the 1960s and 1970s who was assassinated in 1978.

Additionally, as part of its support of the movement, a percentage of the proceeds from purchases will go to the Harvey Milk Foundation – an organization known for providing resources around LGBTQ education.

If creating a limited -edition bottle of vodka wasn’t enough, Stoli funded a project to paint a mural of Harvey Milk , a well-known gay activist who has since passed away, in his old neighborhood in San Francisco.

Duolingo Brings Inclusivity to Its Free Language Education Tools

Duolingo was created to provide free language education to the world. If you want to learn to speak another language through fun and engaging programs, Duolingo is the place. As a diverse organization, Duolingo decided to build LGBTQ inclusivity into its language programs.

Judging by the comments on the Twitter post, there’s a mixture of support for Duolingo’s move to include LGBTQ inclusivity and identity into its language learning programs. But something is to be said for a company that can stand behind its decision to show support for its beliefs.

These are just a few examples of the ways companies are showing support for Pride Month this year. Take a few minutes out of your day to search on social media, and you’ll see what some of your favorite brands are doing to add to the movement.