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9 hours ago
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Pride Toronto, one of the largest celebrations of LGTBQ+ people in North America, is reeling from the loss of three major sponsors who have pulled funding after Donald Trump’s purge of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes in the US.
Kojo Modeste, the executive director of the Canadian event said that the sponsors who also do business in the US are seeking to avoidbeing seen as supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
“There is a level of fear that has been instilled into them by [Donald Trump’s] administration,” he said.
Modeste did not say which sponsors had dropped out, as the event – which attracts more than 3 million attendees – may want to work with them in the future.
He said the funding cuts would not impact the quality or size of the festival, but expressed fears the episode could mark a broader rollback for LGBTQ+ funding.
“This could lead to some significant changes that could have a huge step back for the [LGBTQ+] community globally,” he said.
Observers in Canada fear the funding loss is an indication that Trump’s order to axe DEI programming at US federal agencies and businesses that work with the government is already having a chilling effect across the border.
The White House has pushed and implemented a mass firing of at least 30,000 federal workers, including those working on diversity initiatives.
In general, these initiatives often aim to ensure people of color, women and those in the LGTBQ+ community receive opportunities and support that they’ve been denied due to systemic discrimination in institutions that have long been dominated by white men.
While a US judge has temporarily blocked Trump’s DEI ban, that hasn’t prevented layoffs nor has it stopped businesses from deciding to step away from DEI.
That includes some Canadian businesses: Shopify, the ecommerce platform based in Ottawa, has rolled back several diversity initiatives including dismantling its Equitable Commerce team and a program for Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Sui Sui, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University whose research focuses on DEI initiatives, said some companies are seeking to placate US investors who want to see cuts for short term savings, instead of understanding the long term benefit of these initiatives.
Sui said her research shows that diversity initiatives strengthen a business by increasing innovation, productivity and making the corporation more nimble in a crisis.
Eddy Ng, a professor at Queen’s University in Ontario, and a specialist of equity and inclusion in business warned that the Pride Toronto case is an indicator that Canada should also brace itself for cuts to DEI initiatives.
Ng said that corporations invest in such initiatives not due to purely altruistic motives, but also because they want to be seen as good corporate citizens – and they understand that diversity is good for business.
Those shaky motives put such initiatives at risk – as many companies only put in programming after the murder of George Floyd in the US, said Ng. But he expressed hope that businesses in Canada would not want to be seen giving in to trends started in Trump’s US.
“They know that diversity is important for innovation and creativity and key to gaining a competitive advantage,” he says. “Employers, however, need to better understand how to leverage a diverse workforce simply having diversity is not enough.”
