Pride 2025: Practice, not Performance

Each June, Pride invites us to pause in celebration and commemoration of the spirit, joy, resilience, and sacrifices of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities the world over. In recent years, it’s even become something of a mainstay in the ever-evolving corporate landscape – a series of rainbow candy-covered promises which sought to assure our most vulnerable communities of their safety and their place at the table. Moreover, it affirmed an implied willingness to stand alongside them should these freedoms be challenged.

Yet, in the midst of an increasingly authoritative U.S. regime that has seemingly staked its name on the obliteration of EDI, we are seeing many corporations and organizations retreat from their promises to do the hard work that is fostering genuine inclusion.

South of the border, roles meant to safeguard EDI are being slashed, educators are being censored, and anti-2SLGBTQIA+ protections are being repealed. The prevailing narrative being that these positions were unnecessary all along – a divisive trend rather than urgent systemic work.

The backlash, as we see it, is a direct response to years of progress and necessary change. For some time, it felt that the world was growing more accepting and more accommodating – willing to accept that diversity is humanity’s greatest strength and nurturing it, our highest hurdle.

With targeted attacks on 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals on a steady incline and an onslaught of tangible policy seeking to strip hard-won rights from the hands who fought for them, we are reminding ourselves that Pride is, and always has been a practice, not a performance.

Here in Canada, we sit on a precipice; we have an opportunity (and a responsibility) to do better and, in many ways, are rising to this occasion. After a particularly contentious election, our federal leadership is showing up strongly in favour of renewed efforts to safeguard the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians. Mark Carney has clearly voiced that equity and human rights are foundational to a strong democracy and this government appears to be working toward expanded protections, supports, and initiatives to foster safety within our queer and trans communities.

However, as corporations in Canada show their performative stripes by withdrawing support for key events such as Pride festivals, we can feel free to decide with our dollars whether we like that type of performance or not.

As a Canadian consultancy firmly grounded in the principles of DAEIR – inclusion isn’t just a box that we check off come Pride month, but an ethos we strive to embody in every project we take on, every interaction we have with our clients and one another, and every decision we make as a collective. In many ways, it’s our life’s work. We don’t always get it right. How could we? But that isn’t going to stop us from trying.

ParriagGroup’s very bones are made up of a desire to be courageous and consistent – and to contribute meaningfully toward building a world where those who have historically been pushed to the margins, can thrive. We remain committed to this mission – particularly in the face of changing attitudes and societal pushback.

As Pride 2025 draws to a close, we want to reaffirm our commitment to the daily practice of inclusion. To showing up with intention. To making space for the difficult conversations, to listening harder, and to forever being receptive to transformation.

We wish you all a very happy Pride.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde