Life at General Mills
The history of Pride at General Mills
General Mills is a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ equality. See how the company has shown its support and allyship over the years.
How Pride Month got its start
LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated in June to commemorate the riots that took place in New York City following a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar, on June 28, 1969.
This riot spurred action across the country and numerous LGBTQ+ organizations were formed across the U.S.
General Mills’ history of Pride and LGBTQ+ inclusion dates to the early 1990s.
Originally, a group of employees met off-campus, which is what sparked the creation of Betty’s Family Network, our LGBTQ+ employee network. Mark Addicks, one of the original members and an executive sponsor for Betty’s Family, was the first openly gay officer at General Mills in 1995. He is responsible for many of the traditions that still exist today.
The first official employee network at General Mills, the Black Champions Network, was created in 1996 and paved the way for Betty’s Family to be recognized. Today, we have seven employee networks that celebrate and champion inclusivity every day.
It was also the first year General Mills raised the Progress Pride Flag, which includes the traditional rainbow stripes to show the diversity of the community but also incorporates the Transgender flag colors and black and brown stripes to represent marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of color.
Lucky Charms’ #LuckyToBe Campaigns in 2013 and 2014 celebrated individuality, diversity, and inclusiveness. Lucky Charms encouraged cereal fans to share why they were #LuckyToBe.
In 2014, a series of commercials of the “The Cheerios Effect” celebrated stories of love and connection in Canada. One of the commercials featured Andre and Johnathan, two dads with their daughter, Raphaelle.
And in 2015, Greg Louganis, an openly gay and HIV-positive athlete, was featured on the Wheaties box. Louganis won gold medals in both springboard and platform diving in 1984 and 1988.
