How We Support LGBTQIA+ People
Discover how Colgate-Palmolive takes action during Pride Month and year-round.
Category
Innovation, Diversity
Published
June, 2025
At Colgate-Palmolive, we are committed to reimagining a healthier future for all people. Supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and empowering our employees to be their authentic selves is one more way we put our purpose into action to make a positive impact. Learn more about some of CP’s activities during Pride Month and year-round:
Creating Connection for LGBTQIA+ Employees
One of CP’s three core values is “We are Inclusive,” which means we create a sense of belonging for all. We believe this helps us form the strongest teams. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) serve as ways all our people can connect and are key drivers to help us build an inclusive organization where all Colgate-Palmolive People feel they can be their authentic selves and contribute their full potential to our business. Our ERGs help cultivate a sense of community and offer opportunities for connection, which we know is important to wellbeing.
CP has eight active LGBTQIA+ ERG chapters globally, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India and Europe/Eurasia, as well as at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. These ERGs facilitate belonging and allyship by creating a space for employees to come together as a community, hosting guest speakers through live events and digital programming, celebrating key milestones, discovering the impact of being an ally and honoring flagship events such as Pride and National Coming Out Day – moments that matter to our people.
“Inclusion is a big part of the reason why we feel so embraced here. I always hear that the best part of CP is the people — which I believe is true,” shares Lucas Cortegoso Cezar, Financial Planning Coordinator, CP Brazil.
Amplifying our Impact Beyond CP
CP has a long history of taking action to support LGBTQIA+ people in our communities. For example, we are proud to have signed the amicus brief in 2015 petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize constitutional marriage equality.
CP is an active supporter of Live Out Loud, a non-profit organization that provides LGBTQIA+ youth in the U.S. with resources, role models, and opportunities that help them discover their voice and become leaders of change. In 2024,CP was honored with the organization’s Corporate Leadership Award during its annual Trailblazers Gala and our team was proud to attend the 2025 Annual Homecoming Gala to celebrate the organization!
We also support the Ali Forney Center, which aims to protect LGBTQIA+ young people in the U.S. from the harms of homelessness and to empower them with the education and tools needed to focus on their health and live independently. CP also has national and local memberships with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest advocacy organization dedicated to advancing business opportunities for LGBTQIA+ people.
We are also proud to support The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis organization for LGBTQ+ young people, and their crisis services program, which provides hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ young people with life-saving and affirming support.
To extend our impact even further, CP offers a matching gift program for U.S.-based full time employees, which empowers CP People to maximize their personal donations with a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $8,000 a year per employee, to a wide range of nonprofits that support our Company’s purpose to reimagine a healthier future for all – including organizations that support the health and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ people.
We are proud to support an inclusive workplace — and our employees are too. Macarena Castillo Olmos, Senior Brand Design Manager, Europe Division, shared, “Being part of a company that recognizes and celebrates initiatives like Pride cultivates an environment of trust, openness, and safety.”
