Companies back away from Pride, but not in Boston
Why it matters: This is a major pivot for the once proud corporate America.
Zoom in: In Boston, organizers last week announced "Here to Stay" as the theme behind this year's Pride parade and celebration. Organizers say no major sponsors dropped out this year.
What they're saying:"There are those who wish we would disappear—go back in the closet, quiet our voices, and surrender the rights we've fought so hard to claim," Boston Pride for the People president Adrianna Boulin said in a press release.
State of play: Mastercard, Citi, Pepsi, Nissan and PwC pulled sponsorship of NYC Pride. Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte pulled out of WorldPride Washington, D.C., and Anheuser-Busch, Comcast and Diageo stopped sponsoring San Francisco Pride.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis' Twin Cities Pride rejected Target's sponsorship dollars, citing wishy-washy support of the LGBTQ+ community and its DEI rollbacks.
Between the lines: Boston Pride for the People, the group that's been running Boston's Pride celebration since 2023, told Axios that this year's parade is getting back almost all the sponsors that contributed last year.
Some nonprofit groups are sitting out this year, not because of politics, but for budgetary reasons.
The group was hoping for more interest from first-time sponsors, but that didn't materialize.
By the numbers: 39% of corporations are scaling back external Pride Month engagements this year, according to Gravity Research data.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mastercard policy chief calls Genius stablecoin act a ‘turning point' in push for mainstream use
Mastercard says the US has reached a 'turning point' in stablecoin regulation and digital asset adoption — a moment it's been preparing for over the past few years. The company's head of global policy, Jesse McWaters, cited the passage of the Genius Act as a catalyst for institutional involvement, pointing to a 'new era of regulatory clarity and confidence in digital assets.' Signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday, the Genius Act allows regulated entities, including banks and corporations, to issue dollar-backed stablecoins if they meet strict reserve, disclosure, and compliance requirements. It is the first crypto-specific legislation to become law in the United States. McWaters said Mastercard has spent years building toward this moment, and emphasised the importance of integrating stablecoins into systems people trust if meaningful adoption is to follow. The law has already prompted movement from major players. Executives at JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America have signalled plans to enter the stablecoin space. Meanwhile, tech firms like Amazon and Apple are reportedly exploring stablecoin integration into their platforms. Representatives from Circle, Coinbase, Gemini, and Tether attended the bill's signing at the White House. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the new law gives the sector 'a clear regulatory foundation.' Still, the bill remains divisive. Critics have warned it could encourage regulatory arbitrage and give traditional banks an unfair edge over decentralised stablecoin issuers. Others, including Democratic lawmakers, say the law doesn't go far enough to address consumer protection or financial crime risks. Kyle Baird is DL News' Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Forbes
Your Employees Are Terrified Of AI. Here's How To Prepare Them.
If you've been anywhere on the planet over the past few years you have likely seen the countless predictions of how AI is going to take away jobs. Hundreds of millions of jobs globally according to some reports! How can people not be terrified of this? Well, they are. Your employees are terrified too. And it's hard not to empathize. AI is already replacing workers at tech companies, Wall Street firms and retailers and some fear greater job losses in the not too distant future. More companies like Microsoft and PayPal are now publicly admitting how they're using this technology to reduce their headcounts. Other cost cutting measures – driven by AI and other technology advances - are leading big brands like Citi, Accenture, Tesla and Intel and other corporate giants to lay off tens of thousands of workers. Articles appear almost daily about the jobs most likely to go away thanks to AI. New job seekers are facing challenges finding work, not only because of a slowing economy but because of cutbacks fueled by technology. So it's understandable why your employees would be concerned. But – as business owners – we know that they really shouldn't be. We need them. Especially the good ones. So here's how you can prepare your workforce for the inevitable, unavoidable, inescapable impact that AI will have on your business and their livelihoods. Drill Down On Your Software Vendors Big brands are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build their own internal systems for writing code, interacting with customers and performing tasks behind the scenes. But what about smaller organizations? Most will not be writing their own AI applications. They'll be leaning on the features introduced by their software vendors. As I write this, the technology firms that make accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, order entry, inventory management and other business applications are doing just that: investing millions in new AI capabilities for their platforms. Owners and managers need to spend time with their most significant software vendors and understand what AI features and functionality they're rolling out and then choose which of these functions will provide the most ROI for their companies. The reality is that AI isn't going to impact all of a business. But it will impact certain parts where it makes the most sense. Those parts need to be determined. Why? Because people will be affected. Train Your People. For Real This Time. Let me guess: your business has Microsoft Office or Google Workspace and you're percent of their features? Don't make this mistake again and don't do this with your AI investments. Once you choose which AI features you'll be focusing on (see above) then spend the money on training your people for real this time and then lean heavily into those features. Not only is it critical for your business to leverage whatever automation tools are available but you'll find it making a huge positive impact on your employees' attitudes towards these technologies. Help your employees to become experts in AI for their jobs. They'll gain confidence in themselves and a new appreciation for how AI will make their jobs easier and their lives better. Most fear is caused by uncertainty and ignorance. Training will remove those factors. Understand Your Demographics A recent study found that a staggering 85 percent of ChatGPT's mobile users are male. Other studies have shown that older people use AI differently than younger generations. And more research has revealed that six in ten GenZers use AI for education and 30 percent of younger generations use it weekly. Meanwhile, most older generations rely on AI mainly for work and professional tasks like helping with emails. It's important to tailor your training and your approach to AI based on who your people are. Don't advertise your intentions Shopify's CEO recently stated that his company won't hire workers unless it can be proven that AI won't do their job instead. Consumer financing firm Klarna boasted that their AI model would replace 700 customer service agents. The CEOs of Ford, JP Morgan and Amazon have all publicly stated that AI will be helping them to cut headcount. To me, none of these announcements say "hey, we love our people." Imagine working at at these firms. What would you think? You'd be afraid for your job. And that will impact your productivity and commitment. My advice: don't be like these CEO's. Whatever AI plans you have for your business, keep them close to the chest. It's likely – as a small business owner – that these plans will not involve cutting headcount, only increasing productivity. But your employees won't know that and could interpret your statements differently. And given AI's rapid change, those plans can change. Even Klarna's CEO walked back his claims after realizing that, depending on the issue, customers want to speak with humans. Duh! Change your KPIs Speaking of change, AI should cause you to change your Key Performance Indicators - or KPIs – that you're likely using to measure your people. Your AI investments are intended to increase productivity and that's what your metrics should be about. The whole reason why you're investing in this stuff is not to get rid of people, but to help them do things quicker. Because of this, you should change your focus to KPIs that emphasize productivity like output per employee, revenue per employee, task completion rates, billable utilization rates and error rates. Finally, be realistic and transparent The narrative is that employers will leap at the opportunity to replace their workers with bots, fire their employees, save money and increase their profits. And there's no denying that some jobs will be replaced. New technologies have a way of doing that. But business owners like myself - and just about all of my clients - know better. There's myth and there's reality. The myth is that everything will be done by AI and few workers will be needed. The reality is that AI is in its infancy and it's no where near the stage where we can rely on it to take away the core responsibilities that are being done by our very valuable employees. But make no mistake: these tools will get better, more accurate and more reliable over time. AI agents will start assuming tasks behind the scenes. And employers will be using them to do the work that employees are now doing. Which means you have to be realistic and transparent with your people. If they don't lean into these tools or their KPIs lag behind others, then you may have to make changes. You have a business to run. If an employee doesn't adapt to other tasks and adjusts to this new reality then yes, they may be out of a job. This is just a fact. But if you provide your people with the right training and context for your AI investments, your best workers will see the opportunity and step up to the plate. Those will be the ones who will not only help your business succeed but themselves will grow into better professionals.
Bloomberg
11 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Surveillance TV: August 15th, 2025
- Binky Chadha, Chief US Equity & Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank - Eddie Fishman, Professor at Columbia University - Marc Sumerlin, Managing Partner and founder at Evenflow Macro - Veronica Clark, Director: Research at Citi Binky Chadha, Chief US Equity & Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank, joins to discuss his S&P target and outlook for equities amid policy and global uncertainty. Eddie Fishman, Professor at Columbia University, previews the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Marc Sumerlin, Managing Partner and founder at Evenflow Macro, discusses the latest on the Fed and chair candidates. Veronica Clark, Director: Research at Citi, offers her outlook on markets, the economy, and inflation.
