For Context
I have spent 16 years working at the intersection of the labor market, companies, and the queer community. As founder and CEO of the UHLALA Group, I guide companies, HR teams, and leaders on LGBTQ+ topics and I engage in ongoing dialogue with queer employees across diverse industries. This work includes formats such as STICKS & STONES, PROUDR, ALICE, We Stay Pride, as well as structured audits and recognitions like PRIDE Champion.
The observations in this text are not based on theory, but on many concrete conversations I have conducted in recent months with companies and, above all, with queer people who work in these companies. And the picture that emerges from these conversations is clearly more complex than many public debates currently allow.
Yes, diversity budgets have been cut, sometimes quite severely, and in some companies even completely scrapped. This affects not only LGBTQ+ topics but almost all areas of diversity. Networks have been frozen, programs paused, external partnerships terminated. And yes, the first half of the last year was an absolute catastrophe for many.
The programs disappear, the people stay
What is often overlooked is something else. The people who worked in these companies on diversity, on queer topics, on equality are not simply gone. They are still there, often unsure, sometimes desperate, and frequently without a clear sense of what they may still do, what they can say, and where suddenly red lines appear that did not exist before.
Fear is currently the strongest driver — and that is dangerous
Many of these decisions were not made from conviction, but out of fear. Fear of financial losses, fear of political backlash, and fear of losing government contracts because the wrong word or the wrong symbol appears on a website. These aren’t small sums; in some cases, entire departments or locations are on the line.
I can understand this to an extent. Because the alternative often means layoffs. And nobody benefits when jobs are lost on principle. Downplaying this reality does not make the debate fairer; it makes it simpler—and unfortunately also wrong.
For some, retreat was convenient
At the same time, there is another truth. For some, this phase was a welcomed opportunity. People who never really liked diversity, not for ideological reasons, but because power dynamics shifted. Because suddenly it wasn’t only those who knew each other who got opportunities, but people who were good, different, competent, visible. For some, the retreat from diversity was a relief. And that, too, must be named.
Why the wind is starting to turn again
What gives me cautious optimism, despite everything, is that the wind is slowly turning. In recent months I notice in conversations that many companies are recognizing how counterproductive a full retreat is. Not for moral reasons, but for business reasons. Companies want the best people, they want to develop innovative products, and they want teams that work. And they increasingly realize that all of that doesn’t happen if people have to hide or effectively resign from their roles.
Diversity works in everyday life, not in marketing
Because this is discussed far too rarely. Diversity does work. Not as a buzzword, but in everyday life. Employees perform better when they feel safe, when they know they don’t have to constantly monitor what they say, how they live, or whom they love. Mental health is not a soft topic; it determines performance, loyalty, and creativity.
Why the accusation of pinkwashing often falls short
Therefore, the accusation of blanket pinkwashing also falls short. Yes, there are companies that hang rainbow flags without changing internal realities. That has always existed. But there are also many others. Companies where Pride participation, internal networks, or external partnerships were hard-wought, often by queer employees themselves, against resistance, against boards, against communications departments.
These battles are real. And they are getting tougher again.
Change has never come from the top alone
Change has never come only from above, neither on the street nor in corporations. Grassroots movements have always been the engine. And they are the engine again now. That applies to protests just as much as to internal networks, to difficult conversations, and to structures that aren’t perfect but are reviewable.
What really matters now
That’s why it’s so important to take a closer look. Not every company that is currently communicating more cautiously is automatically evil. And not every company that stays visible automatically does everything right. What matters are the structures, the processes, and the question of whether there are points of contact, whether progress is measurable, and whether there is a genuine willingness to be examined.
That is exactly why formats like STICKS & STONES — the next event is January 31, 2026 in Cologne — are for many more than just a trade show. They are a compass. A place where queer people meet employers who are deliberate in their stance and where it becomes visible that stance and economic success do not have to be at odds.
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|A final appeal
My appeal to queer people who are currently seeking a job or thinking about switching careers is simple. Don’t just pay attention to pretty words—focus on the structures, on networks, and on processes that are regularly reviewed, for example through audits like PRIDE Champion. No company is perfect. But it makes a difference whether change is truly intended or merely claimed.
And my appeal to everyone who is frustrated: you are not alone! Many are fighting the same battle right now—quietly, internally, often unseen. But it is precisely from these struggles that change has always emerged.
What is happening in companies right now is contradictory. It is shaped by fear, by backsliding, but also by learning processes. It moves somewhere between anger, exhaustion, and hope. And that is exactly why it is worth not looking away, but looking more closely and with nuance.
