Booz Allen Hamilton, a U.S. government defense contractor, is withdrawing from WorldPride 2025 after shutting down its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The company is eliminating diversity goals and banning employees from using pronouns or bathrooms that don’t align with their assigned sex at birth if required by federal agencies.
Chief People Officer Aimee George Leary said Booz Allen must comply with changing regulations or risk losing government contracts. These changes follow Donald Trump’s executive orders dismantling DEI programs and rescinding civil rights protections from Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246.
Sources close to the story suggested the move creates anxiety that other sponsors will follow suit after Booz Allen Hamilton has taken this action just four months before World Pride. The Capital Pride Alliance, which is hosting WorldPride in Washington, D.C., has acknowledged the sponsorship loss but remains confident in the event’s success.
