A Reflection on Pride Month 2026 – What Now?
At a recent webinar for Pride in Leadership, I was struck by a sentence uttered by the brilliant Joanne Lockwood, “Pride month is great for awareness but not so great for action.”
For years, brands which do nothing to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ folk (or in some cases, donate to anti-LGBTQ+ organisations), have been ‘rainbow washing’ – using rainbow imagery or queer lingo during Pride month to appeal to consumers within the community and allies.
This comes on top of falling sponsorship for Pride celebrations across the country. Last year, reportedly 75% of over 100 pride groups in the UK reported a drop in funding, with a quarter of these dropping by more than half.
Anecdotally, there seemed to be less and less rainbow logos this pride month compared to recent years. At the same time, we are seeing a rise in violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK (particularly towards the trans+ community), and cuts to EDI in the US and beyond. Pride is feeling more like a protest than it has in a while.
However, there are many good news stories as well; there’s continued queer representation in media, the ladies’ pond in Hampstead Heath remains trans-inclusive following a massive backing from the community, and Weston-Super-Mare’s pride celebration took place in 2026 after a three-year hiatus. Alongside this, LGBTQ+ charities continue to do great work and support the community.
A question that my team and I often ask ourselves is, ‘so now what?’ and I think this can certainly be applied to Pride month. Awareness is great, and given the current political climate, a show of solidarity would of course be appreciated by much of the queer community.
However, there are real, tangible steps organisations can take in order to show their support to the queer community in a more meaningful way. Donating to LGBTQ+ charities is one way to make a difference. You can put on a bake sale, take part in a charity event, or simply sponsor a queer charity or organisation.
Support doesn’t have to break the bank; volunteering or providing pro bono help is a way to show up for the community if you don’t have the funds to sponsor. Here at Charity People, we have a longstanding relationship with Pride in Leadership, a non-profit LGBTQ+ networking organisation. Not only do we sponsor Pride in Leadership annually, but we also provide pro-bono tech support for their online events. You may have seen us promoting these events through LinkedIn. We also have a very active EDI Committee who meet with external lived experience advisors quarterly, discussing and implementing ways to better support minoritised communities both internally and through the work that we do.
Providing support and reducing barriers is more important now than ever. Pride in Leadership have published a comprehensive report; ‘Barriers to LGBTQ+ career development in the UK’, which found 85% of respondents have experienced career barriers related to being LGBTQ+ and 34% said that being LGBTQ+ negatively affected their educational achievement. It’s absolutely worth a read and they even offer suggestions on how organisations, policy makers, and the community can change these stats.
Charity People’s partnership with Pride in Leadership is strengthened by our relationship with Claire Ebrey, who co-runs the organisation along with Matt Howarth. Having a personal relationship strengthens the way we can show up as an ally to the queer community, ensuring that we are supporting them in the best way possible for the community they support.
We have a long way to go, so don’t be quiet now. Pride month is a great time to reflect on how you show up for the queer community, but it shouldn’t stop come July 1st. Listen to and amplify the voices of people with lived experience throughout the year, show up as an ally in little and big ways for the queer people in your life and don’t stop learning.
Gabi Smith
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