The increasing visibility of tech firms at the parade comes as U.S. The 49th annual parade in 2019 included 289 parade contingents, and is described on the official website as 'the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation'. "Tech companies need to be at Pride simply to be in the game," she said. The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration, usually known as San Francisco Pride, is a parade and festival held at the end of June most years in San Francisco, California, to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. The HRC awarded Apple a perfect score on its corporate equality index, which rates American workplaces on LGBT equality.Įllen Leanse, a former Google and Apple senior employee, said the Pride festival is a "high-visibility place" for these tech firms to compete for talent. "It's a dog whistle to their consumer base that these tech firms are cool, with it, and progressive," said Fred Sainz, vice president of communications and marketing at the Human Rights Campaign. Hundreds of employees showed up at this year's parade. It gathers about a million proud attendees, 300 exhibitors, 200 parade contingents, and features over 20 stages and party venues. "Apple believes equality and diversity make us stronger, and we're proud to support our employees and their friends and families in this weekend's celebration," Apple spokeswoman Michaela Wilkinson said.įellow tech firms Google Inc and Facebook also spent several days planning their festival debuts. San Francisco is a pioneering city in the areas of gender right, marriage equality, and the freedom to let rainbow flag fly. Company employees also handed out iTunes gift cards to bystanders. To help attendees navigate the packed event, the company set up a dedicated LGBT station on iTunes Radio and featured several apps on its App Store, including the Find My Friends app. With hundreds of thousands of people flooding into the city. In an unusual step for the sometimes secretive Apple, the company has spoken out about its support for the Pride festival. San Francisco Pride holds one of the oldest and largest annual LGBTQ+ parades in the world. The company recently came out against an Arizona bill that would permit businesses to refuse service on religious grounds, a measure that critics said could allow discrimination against gay people. The San Francisco event was one of many Gay Pride parades held across the United States on Sunday.Īpple Chief Executive Tim Cook made a surprise appearance at the San Francisco event to greet employees and their families early in the morning, but did not march in the parade himself.Īpple has a long history of supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. This year's turnout was largest in the company's history, several Apple employees told Reuters. Thousands of Apple employees donned specially designed T shirts at the festival and marched in unison.
Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and other prominent Silicon Valley technology companies flew the flag for gay rights at the San Francisco Pride Festival on Sunday as they sought to boost morale among employees and reflect a corporate culture of diversity. San Francisco Pride Parade June 26th 2022 The massive annual parade down Market Street is the main highlight of Pride.