More Than 75 Leading Businesses Take Action for LGBTQ+ Community During State of Emergency, Speak Out Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills; Sign Human Rights Campaign's "Count Us In" Pledge

Companies standing in allyship by signing on to the pledge include IKEA, Levi Strauss & Co., REI, Patagonia, Logitech, Yelp

WASHINGTON - June 26, 2023 - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights advocacy organization, announced that over 75 large businesses and dozens of small businesses have signed on to its Count Us In pledge. Pledge signatories represent a cross-sector commitment from businesses to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community during an unprecedented state of emergency. The pledge brings businesses together in allyship for the LGBTQ+ community while sending a powerful message to extremist lawmakers advancing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, that equality for all is not negotiable.

President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Kelley Robinson released the following statement:

"Just as we know Pride Month means more than a rainbow logo, this group of businesses recognizes that the work of allyship doesn't end on June 30th. Our community is experiencing the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation - over 520 bills that aim to strip us of our very existence, dignity and history, from the doctor's office to the classroom to the sports field. That's why we declared for the first time ever a national state of emergency for our community.

But a growing number of companies are here to join with our community and let the bullies know that they haven't won in the past, so they won't win now. They recognize that engaging with the LGBTQ+ community is critical to attract and retain quality employees, that inclusive marketing is critical to their future success, and that the current patchwork of laws restricting LGBTQ+ people's freedoms harms their businesses.

We've seen it again and again: Businesses that stick with their values send a powerful message to their employees, shareholders and customers that equality is not up for debate. Every time businesses stand up and speak out for LGBTQ+ equality, they come out on top, regardless of baseless, anti-business attacks."

Businesses that sign the Count Us In pledge commit to the following:

• Be proud and public LGBTQ+ allies, calling on lawmakers to abandon any efforts to discriminate and reject anti-LGBTQ threats to company values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Raise up honest and authentic experiences of LGBTQ+ Americans, including those of employees and customers in the transgender and non-binary community; and
• Ensure transgender and non-binary employees and their families have access to the health and medical care they need, where possible under the law.

The full list of current large business signatories are as follows:

• 360 Behavioral Health
• Adobe Inc.
• American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
• Applied Materials, Inc.
• Arcadis U.S. Inc.
• Avita Care Solutions/QCare+
• Billtrust
• Bloomberg L.P.
• Boston Scientific
• Bread Financial
• BTS
• Crowley
• CSG
• Danone North America
• Dechert LLP
• Dentons
• Dow
• Ecolab Inc.
• Edelman U.S.
• Elanco
• Electronic Arts
• EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Electronics
• Envision Healthcare
• Etsy
• Eventbrite
• Glassdoor
• GLG
• Hyve Solutions
• IFF
• IKEA U.S.
• Included Health
• Indeed
• Jacobs
• Levi Strauss & Co.
• Loeb & Loeb
• Logitech
• Lyft, Inc.
• ManpowerGroup
• Match Group
• Mattel
• McDermott Will & Emery
• Microsoft
• Molson Coors Beverage Company
• Motive Inc.
• Neiman Marcus Group
• NIKE, Inc.
• Newfront
• Patagonia
• Perkins&Will
• Pfizer
• Pinterest
• Power Home Remodeling
• Qualtrics
• Ralph Lauren Corporation
• REI Co-op
• RS Group Americas
• Sephora USA
• Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
• Signet Jewelers
• Starbucks
• SurveyMonkey
• Teradata
• The Knot Worldwide
• TransUnion
• TriNet Group, Inc.
• Tripadvisor Group
• Unilever United States
• Wabtec Corporation
• Walt Disney Company
• Warby Parker
• Weber Shandwick
• Wunderman Thompson
• Xperi Inc.
• Yahoo
• Yelp
• Ziff Davis

HRC has collaborated with GLAAD on efforts to ensure the business community has substantive ways to support the LGBTQ+ community, including GLAAD's separate sign-on statement of support.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of HRC's partnership with over 200 LGBTQ+ and allied organizations in renewing their call for Target and the business community at large to reject anti-LGBTQ+ extremism during Pride Month.

For more on how companies can and should show up for the LGBTQ+ community, read Kelley Robinson's USA Today opinion piece, published June 5th: "It is in this atmosphere that companies are entering Pride Month - a timely reminder that inclusion is not selective nor half-hearted. Being an LGBTQ+ ally this Pride means moving beyond the seasonal rainbow logo to taking meaningful action - speaking out against hate-filled legislation, providing relocation benefits for workers who have to flee their states, and standing by the community when the water gets hot."

Equality is good for business:

• The Gen Z consumer and workforce is not the future, they are the right now, and more than 1 in 5 of them identify as LGBTQ+.
• Research shows that if a brand publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights, Americans are 2x more likely to buy or use the brand. Americans ages 18-34 are 5.5x more likely to want to work at a company if it publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights.
• Seven in ten (71%) of U.S. LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to purchase from a company that "outreaches and advertises to the LGTBQ+ community" (Community Marketing Insights [CMI]).
• Internally, 68% of employees surveyed in 2021 would consider quitting their current job and working with an organization with a stronger viewpoint on the social issues that matter most to them (Gartner Inc.)
• Employees whose employer has taken a strong stance on current societal and cultural issues are twice as likely to report high job satisfaction.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.