DIVERSITY: AFTER THE U-TURN BY BIG MULTINATIONALS, THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY IS BOYCOTTING: "WE CHOOSE MORE INCLUSIVE ALTERNATIVES."“
The flash survey conducted by Gay.it in collaboration with Arcigay shows that 54% of the people interviewed are ready to turn their backs on the global giants.
Bologna, January 22, 2025 — In recent weeks, some of the most important multinationals, such as Meta, Amazon, and McDonald's, have announced their abandonment of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) practices. Meta, following the example of Elon Musk's social media platform X, has decided to remove fact-checking from its platforms. Gay.it, the largest Italian LGBTQIA+ media outlet, and Arcigay wanted to give the relevant community a voice through a survey of 1,000 LGBTQIA+ people from across the country to understand the impact of these decisions within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Here are the survey results: 72% of respondents consider the abandonment of DE&I practices by companies like Meta, McDonald's, and Amazon a significant step backward for diversity and inclusion. 72% also believe that Meta Platforms' decision to remove fact-checking on its platforms will lead to an increase in the spread of fake news and misinformation. In this regard, 45% of respondents stated they will continue to use social media but with greater caution, while 36% intend to spend less time on these platforms, preferring safer and more authentically LGBTQIA+ spaces. More generally, the rollback of DE&I policies impacts the community's purchasing or usage choices: 54% of respondents say they will seek out more inclusive alternatives, while 67% of respondents are less likely to recommend these brands to friends and family, preferring to support companies whose values are more aligned with their own. Finally, 59% of respondents attribute these corporate decisions to political pressure.
The complete survey results are available at this link: https://www.gay.it/diversity-dopo-lo-stop-delle-multinazionali-comunita-lgbt-boicotta
“"The backtracking of large multinationals is a political fact that must be read in the context of a worrying new era characterized by the prominence of the far right, which we saw clearly materialize with the inauguration of US President Donald Trump," declared Gabriele Piazzoni, general secretary of Arcigay. As we review the community's responses to this phenomenon, we want to recall the political practice of boycott, which, in the United States, in Harvey Milk's San Francisco, characterized the LGBTQIA+ community's response to the oppression of those times. It's time to reclaim that awareness and use consumption as a political act: let's boycott, if necessary. Let's abandon platforms—those of shopping, social media, and broadcasting—to undermine the foundations of a power that has used us to seduce the market and is now jumping on the bandwagon of despots with an outstretched arm. Now more than ever, we need to build a grassroots alliance that unites all social groups targeted by these powerful forces; we need to overcome every division to organize effective resistance, one that challenges these powers and protects those who today live in fear because of these people and their ideas. From this perspective, Arcigay is ready to do its part,” concludes Piazzoni.
