San Diego’s annual celebration of the LGBT community, hosted by San Diego Pride incorporated, boasted over 125,000 attendees with over 200 participating local and national brands taking part in the festivities. With recent attacks on public gatherings, this year’s theme, “Pride Unites the World”, really encompassed San Diego Pride’s mission of fostering pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, locally, nationally and globally.
U.S. Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning, the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military service branch, and California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom both served as honorary grand marshals in the parade and were joined by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
Recognizable local parade participants included the San Diego Padres, San Diego State University, San Diego LGBT Community Center and United Way of San Diego. Several national brands joined in the festivities including Uber, iHeart Media, Dr. Bronner’s and Qualcomm.
Weekend festivities also included the Unite! Music Festival, Pride of Hillcrest Block Party, Pride 5k Run/Walk, Pride on the Pier and the San Diego Pride Music Festival.
Walking the Talk
SDG&E celebrated its commitment to diversity as approximately 150 employees marched through the streets of Hillcrest on the 1.1 mile Pride Parade route to Balboa Park on Saturday, July 16.
SDG&E is committed to helping its employees feel accepted, safe and protected at work. To that end, the company has led in the effort through its locally based, employee-driven Diversity & Inclusion Councils.
The company is an enthusiastic supporter of San Diego LGBT Pride, the San Diego LGBT Center, the Mental Health America and UCSD’s Youth Empowerment Summit for LGBT Youth and SDSU’s Center for Excellence in School Counseling & Leadership’s Safe Schools Conference.
When employees can bring their whole selves to work, the entire company benefits. It frees them to perform and be innovative. And this, in turn, best serves the community.
Sempra Energy recently received the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Best Places to Work Award and HRC’s Corporate Equality Index Rating of 100, including best in class for LGBT.