Partners

American Express is committed to supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce, marketplace, and society. 

American Express’ dedicated PRIDE+ Network is committed to raising awareness and advancing changes that allow all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, to be respected and valued. Through this new partnership, American Express looks forward to bringing these values and actions into the wider community.

For the past 16 years, American Express has scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, based on its organisation’s policies and practices that support LGBTQI+ inclusion.  This principal partnership announcement continues the organisation’s commitment and involvement in the 2017 Marriage Equality debate and its work and membership in Open for Business, a coalition of global companies making the economic and business case for LGBTQI+ inclusion in companies around the world.

American Express is also an active member of Pride in Diversity and recently received Bronze status in the 2021 Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI).

American Express Australia has been a proud sponsor of LGBTIQ+ organisations and events for many years, including the sponsorship of Mardi Gras Film Festival (2017- 2019), Sponsorship of the OUT leadership Conference (2018- 2020) for Australia, Donations to Twenty 10 and support of Wear it Purple and ACON World Aids Day Red Ribbon Appeal.

American Express is a WGEA Employer of Choice, with specific policies in place, including Gender Affirmation Guidelines and paid parental leave for all Amex colleagues, including LGBTQI+ families.

The NSW Government is proud to support the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
 
The NSW public service strives to be  a reflection of the community it serves. We actively promote employee networks and campaigns that encourage understanding of inclusion and diversity, and are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for all.

Across the sector, we lead or participate in a wide range of LGBTIQ initiatives, including the Diversity Inclusion Network, and Diversity and Inclusion Council, established by the Department of Premier and Cabinet and NSW Treasury; the Transgender, Gender Diverse and Intersex Working Group established by NSW Police; and membership of the national, not-for-profit Pride in Diversity employer support program.

The City of Sydney, Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Council have long supported Sydney’s LGBTIQ communities.

There are more LGBTIQ people in the City of Sydney than any other council area in Australia. The City has demonstrated its commitment to LGBTIQ residents and visitors through partnerships, consultations with the community, advocacy work against homophobia, our financial and in-kind support of the ‘Yes’ campaign (2017) and of course our continued support for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival and Parade.

The City of Sydney supports Mardi Gras as an internationally celebrated event that honours the history of LGBTIQ communities in Australia. Mardi Gras showcases LGBTIQ cultures and honours its contemporary struggles.

As a global city, the City of Sydney is proud to support Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and showcase its diversity to the world. First recognising Mardi Gras as a major festival in 2008, the City of Sydney provided $120,000 in sponsorship in recognition of its significance as a hallmark event and positive impact on the NSW economy.

Since 2012, the City of Sydney has provided more than $2.25 million dollars in support of Mardi Gras through sponsorship agreements.  Support has included cash grants, banner pole hire, major venues hire and accommodation grants for office space on Oxford Street from 2014 to 2019.  A further sponsorship agreement for Mardi Gras is now in place, valued at almost $1 million, including an $800,000 cash contribution to the festival for 2018 to 2020.

The City of Sydney has entered a float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade every year since 2005. In support of the LGBTIQ communities, the City of Sydney has flown the Rainbow Flag over Town Hall during Mardi Gras and Pride weeks each year since 2009.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Mardi Gras, in 2013 the City of Sydney installed a temporary rainbow crossing on Oxford Street. The new rainbow crossing on Campbell and Bourke streets is now a lasting symbol of the history and contemporary culture of the LGBTIQ communities in its heartland of Oxford Street and surrounds.

In 2018, the City was also proud to support the installation of the temporary artwork ‘40 Years of Love’.  The artwork was an expression of the 40 year history of Mardi Gras and the LGBTIQ communities in Australia.

In 2020, Deloitte launched the third Outstanding 50 LGBTI+ Leaders Report in partnership with Google and EnergyAustralia, dedicated to share the impactful stories of LGBTI+ role models and further inspiring our entire community to work towards creating more inclusive workplaces and communities. The purpose of this report is to help LGBTI+ people ‘be what they see’, inspiring a new generation of leaders from many diverse parts of our community. 
 
Deloitte Australia and its LGBTQI+ network, StandOUT, partners with LGBTI+ community organisation Rainbow Families who are the voice for and champion of LGBTQ+ families and prospective parents in NSW. 

As part of Deloitte’s Work Place giving program, employees can sign up to support a charity of their choice which is automatically deducted from their salary on a monthly basis. The LGBTI charity for Deloitte Australia’s workplace giving program is Out for Australia. 

In May 2021, Deloitte was awarded Gold Employer Status at the 2021 Australian LGBTI+ Inclusion Awards in Sydney by Pride in Diversity. This was based on the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI). This is the third time Deloitte has been awarded Gold. 

Deloitte has a Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan – Walking together: Deloitte and Australia’s First Peoples Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) | Deloitte Australia, as a firm, understand they have a lot to learn, and that a great future requires truthfulness about the past. Deloitte are excited to become increasingly bolder about the opportunity to put Aboriginal insights at the centre of the way they work and carry themselves as an organisation. 
 

The ABC is proud to be the host broadcaster of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Sydney WorldPride, having always championed on-screen representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in Australia, including being the first broadcaster to televise the Mardi Gras parade in 1994. 
 
In June 2020, the ABC released its Five-Year Plan reaffirming its commitment to LGBTQIA+ Australians as part of its diversity strategy, including people from diverse cultural, geographical, and Indigenous backgrounds, and people with disability. The corporation’s Diversity and Inclusion Commissioning Guidelines, released in 2021, also support the increase of under-represented people and perspectives, including those of the LGBTQIA+ community, for the ABC’s screen content. 
 
In 2021, the ABC achieved coveted Gold Employer status and Most Improved Employer award at the Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards in recognition of its outstanding steps towards increasing the visibility of people of diverse sexualities and genders, on and off screen. 
 
These achievements have been largely due to the work of the ABC's active, national Pride Committee which was established in 2017. Made up of individuals passionate about inclusion and diversity, ABC Pride has representatives across Australia and aims to build a workplace where everyone belongs and can feel safe and welcome. ABC Pride is currently launching its second three-year plan, building on the successes of its first strategy and is supported by the organisation’s leadership, including the Managing Director who is Pride Executive Sponsor.  
 
The ABC also launched its first LGBTQIA+ Instagram channel ABCQueer for young, queer Australians in 2020 which has already won multiple awards.

Equality is a core value at Salesforce. We believe that businesses can be powerful platforms for social change – with over 2,400 not for profit companies running on our Customer 360 Platform in Australia. Creating a culture of Equality isn’t only the smart thing to do, but it’s also the right thing to do. We believe in bringing your authentic self to work and showing up, listening and speaking up to showcase that Salesforce is a company that lives its core value of equality in the community – one which we’ve demonstrated through 250,000+ volunteer hours spent since we started in Australia, being recognised as a Silver Employer at the Australian Workplace Equality Index Awards and pioneering the 1% pledge globally.

Outforce is our internal pride group that champions equality everyday made up of LGBTIQ+ individuals and allies – and together with other Equality Groups like Abilityforce, Women’s Network, Asiapacforce, Genforce and more – Salesforce’s 12 Equality Groups help us reach our higher purpose to drive Equality for all.

Woolworths Group is a proud to partner with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras again in 2022. As an inclusive, team and customer first company, people are at the core of everything we do, and we are working hard to create a welcoming, vibrant and inclusive environment for our LGBTQ+ team members and customers.

Our Proud at Woolworths Group network consists of individuals who care deeply about inclusion, equality and belonging for all. Our network is very active and works to foster a supportive workplace environment for our LGBTQ+ team members across Australia. Since the establishment of the Proud at Woolworths Group network, Woolworths has continued to embed inclusion across the organisation. Network membership has grown from 50 team members in 2016 to more than 2900 team members in 2022. Woolworths Group has played an active role in events such as Mardi Gras Fair Day and Parade, Midsumma and Coastal Twist. Wear it Purple Day is celebrated in all our brands across the country each year.

In 2021 we were awarded Gold Tier status for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion in the Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards for the fourth consecutive year, and now qualify for Platinum recognition, reflecting our continued commitment to creating an inclusive culture.

At Woolworths Group our purpose is to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow - for our team, our customers and our communities, and are looking forward to once again being actively involved in the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival.

The partnership with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has played an important role for Qantas in celebrating and supporting the LGBTQI community. This is reflected in high engagement with Qantas customers and employees through various activities on Qantas channels and events such as Mardi Gras Parade and Fair Day.

At Qantas we value diversity of thought and experience and believe that our inclusive and collaborative culture contributes to our success. We are a diverse workforce that reflects contemporary, multicultural Australia. We celebrate and promote this diversity as a strength of our business.

We want to build an inclusive workplace, to ensure each and every employee feels comfortable to bring their whole self to work every day regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification.

The Qantas Group Illuminate employee network was established within the company to support LGTBQI employees and their allies. Illuminate aims to help facilitate communication between LGBTQI employees and allies across the whole business. In addition to this, the group fosters a community that is free from bullying, harassment and discrimination for all our employees through additional information, support, contacts and advocacy for LGBTQI employees and their allies.

At Google we strive to be a great place for everyone to work, and to build a diverse workforce that represents all who use our products. We encourage people to bring their best selves to work and are committed to cultivating an environment where all Googlers can thrive.

Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful, and our approach to diversity and inclusion is a natural extension of this: to increase access to opportunity by breaking down barriers and empowering people through technology. The diversity of perspectives, ideas, and cultures, both within Google and in the tech industry, leads to the creation of better products and services for everyone.

We also want our employees to have the same inclusive experience outside of the office as they do at work, and for LGBTIQ communities to be safe and accepted, wherever they are. When it comes to supporting diversity and equality locally, we believe in focusing our efforts and resources to maximise impact for the community. That’s why we’re proud to continue our partnership with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Last year we proudly sponsored the Mardi Gras Community Parade Grants, a wonderful grassroots initiative that directly assists LGBTIQ people, promotes equality and gives the community  a stronger voice. Through this program we sought to enable as many people as possible to participate in Mardi Gras, putting resources towards helping community organisations create their own memorable parade experiences.