Booz Allen Hamilton drops sponsorship of WorldPride, cites Donald Trump's anti-DEI order

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Booz Allen Hamilton WASHINGTON, DC building exterior

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. has withdrawn its sponsorship of WorldPride 2025 to avoid becoming "ineligible for contracts with the federal government."

U.S. government defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. is dropping its sponsorship of WorldPride shortly after ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The company will be shutting down its DEI department, removing diversity goals, and eliminating all references to “DEI” in its communications and training, Bloomberg first reported. Booz Allen has also withdrawn its sponsorship of WorldPride 2025, which is being hosted in Washington, DC from May 17 to June 8.

“While our existing people programs comply with law, it is clear from these executive orders and other public statements, that the definition of what’s allowed is changing, so we must make changes,” Chief People Officer Aimee George Leary said during a virtual company town hall viewed by the outlet. “If we don’t, we could be ineligible for contracts with the federal government. This would put our ability to operate and our company at risk.”

Booz Allen is also banning its employees from using pronouns or bathrooms that do not align with their assigned sex at birth if those are the rules of the government agency where they are assigned.

The company's decisions come after executive orders signed by Donald Trump that shutter DEI offices, terminate related contracts, and place employees working on DEI initiatives on administrative leave. Trump also rescinded civil rights protections from Lyndon B. Johnson's Executive Order 11246 that prevented the federal government from discriminating "against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."