Building Lasting Brand Trust with Genuine DEI CommitmentBuilding Lasting Brand Trust with Genuine DEI Commitment
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Jaclyn Blute
pro
• Jun 9
June is Pride month, and the inclusive campaigns have already gone live. Rainbow products abound to show support and get a share of the LGBTQ dollar. But these communities, like all "outliers," recognize when a brand is being performative rather than sincere.
The brands that understand this don't broadcast inclusivity in June only to go silent in July.
Gay's the Word has been on Marchmont Street in London since 1979 — through government raids, anti-LGBTQ groups, and near-closure. Yet it's still there. Not despite its community, but because of it. Costco upheld its DEI commitments while Walmart, Target, and Amazon walked theirs back. Shareholders voted down the anti-DEI proposal 98 to 2. Foot traffic climbed at Costco while Target's dropped for 10 consecutive weeks.
The throughline isn't activism or politics. It's genuine trust.
Two months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court functionally ended enforcement of the Voting Rights Act effective in May — the same law that seated the first Native American legislators in North Dakota, that helped Latino residents win city council seats in cities where they'd been locked out for generations, that restored democratic representation to majority-Black communities across the South.
Queer communities, especially those of color, have always known our struggles are shared. Rights don't maintain themselves. Someone has to keep measuring impact, keep calling out harm, keep refusing to go silent. (Thanks for the pep talks, Audre Lorde.)
Every brand is being tested right now. The decisions made today — what language stays on the website, whether demographic data still gets published, who gets to see themselves in the work — will define audience relationships for a lifetime.
Inclusion isn't just a campaign tool. It represents whether you're still there when it's hard. Whether you share in the struggle or tap out when your audience needs you most.
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