Coca-Cola at Milano Pride 2020

Support for the Rainbow Social Fund, the #PrideNotPrejudice talk to promote education on LGBT+ issues and internal training courses on Diversity & Inclusion

Milan, 23 June 2020 - For the third consecutive year, Coca-Cola is a partner of Milano Pride, confirming its commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion in the virtual events of Pride Week and supporting the Rainbow Social Fund, a solidarity fund to help the most fragile people in the Milanese community to overcome this moment of difficulty.

Providing information and education is essential when it comes to LGBT+ issues: there are still questions that many do not find an answer to and the reasons are varied, from fear, to shame, to prejudice against something you don't know.

Coca-Cola has therefore made its social channels available to collect users' questions and doubts, inviting everyone to take out the courage and feel free to ask, leaving aside any prejudice.

But she will not be alone: she has in fact joined forces with some experts on the subject, recognized for their fight against discrimination in favor of a world free from prejudice: @Murielxo, the colorful youtuber who fights to promote freedom of expression by always putting herself on the side of those who have no voice, and Arcigay, which thanks to its network of CIG volunteers promotes programs in schools to educate students on LGBT+ issues.

The questions collected on the Coca-Cola and @Murielxo channels will be answered in a virtual talk - as an integral part of the week of events and digital content organized by Milano Pride - entitled Pride Not Prejudice, powered By Coca-Cola: on Wednesday at 6 p.m., @Murielxo and Arcigay will discuss the virtual internship, in a moment of education and information that still proves to be fundamental to break down all prejudices.

Coca-Cola's commitment continues internally within the company: Pride month has been chosen to launch training courses on Diversity & Inclusion issues, with the aim of providing the more than 2,000 people working in offices, factories and on the market with the tools to learn, inform themselves and consequently fight any unconscious bias. The training courses will touch on topics such as sexual orientation, gender equality and disability, with the concrete aim of helping to create a 360° inclusive environment, where the only prerequisites for hiring, employment, training, pay and career advancement have always been skills, results and experience.

The company's attention to these issues is a direct consequence of its values of sharing and inclusion, which have always inspired the company's internal policies and communication. Suffice it to say that even before the Cirinnà Law, important rights were recognized, such as the extension of health insurance and marriage leave to same-sex partners as well.

Coca-Cola's commitment also continues to see its concretization in the company's marketing campaigns: the latest example is the new Sprite project "Create Yourself", with which victims of bullying are invited to change perspective and rewrite their history, transforming hatred into something positive.