Did business lead this revolution, or was it mostly reacting to and reflecting changes in public opinion [in the US towards LGBT rights]? Much like the changes we have seen in the views of elected leaders—the very public evolution on the issue professed by Barack Obama, for example—the answer is, probably a little bit of both...

There have been exceptions, in recent years, to the wave of corporate support, especially in cases where money was involved. When Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a ban on gay “propaganda” during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, most Olympic sponsors looked the other way. (I wrote about that here.) Gay-rights groups organized protests and attempted to start boycotts of some brands, but to little or no effect. A few companies were willing to say something—A.T. & T., a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team, became the first Olympic brand to condemn Russian policy (though it did not alter its participation), while Google tacitly registered its objection by creating a version of its search-page logo depicting athletes against a rainbow backdrop. Many others kept silent...

[refers to positive steps on LGBT rights by: Salesforce, Marriott, Apple, Google, Facebook, IBM, Walmart, Goldman Sachs]