Lake County Gazette

For the past three years, AbbVie, Inc., a North Chicago biopharmaceutical company, has supported GenderCool, a LGBQT-positive group that, among other actions, supports transgender students being allowed to play youth and high school sports. 

AbbVie Inc. has received recognition for embracing diversity in the workplace.

“This #TransAwarenessWeek, explore some of the ways we support our #transgender colleagues: Gender diversity education for employees Partnerships with Out & Equal and GenderCool Project Personal pronouns on emails & business cards,” AbbVie posted on Twitter last November.

GenderCool also talked about the partnership in August 2021. 

“From AbbVie PRIDE partners: ‘Please accept this AbbVie PRIDE Love-is-Love t-shirt as a sign of how thrilled we are to be partnering with this outstanding organization and your amazing Champions! You all are making the world a better place. We applaud your courage, leadership, and overall AWESOMENESS. Thank you for the motivation, enlightenment, and awe that you have inspired in us!’” GenderCool said on Facebook in 2021. “From Champion Max (He/Him): ‘Awwww. Right back at ya, AbbVie! On behalf of all my fellow Champions, thanks for the cool swag and kind words, but most of all, thank you for leading by example.’"

The continuation of the association with AbbVie comes as State Farm announced it was ending its affiliation with the organization after receiving inquiries about it. State Farm said that it was reversing its position due to GenderCool's school curriculum activities. 

“We support organizations that provide resources for parents to have conversations about gender and identity with their children at home," it said in a news release. “We do not support required curriculum in schools on this topic. As a result, we have made the decision we will no longer be affiliated with the organization. We will continue to explore how we can support our associates, as well as organizations that align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, including the LGBTQ+ community.”

According to National Review, the program would distribute hundreds of copies of three LGBTQ books intended for youngsters aged 5 and up, including "A Kid's Book About Being Transgender," "A Kids Book About Being Inclusive," and "A Kids Book About Being Non-Binary."

Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) commented that “GenderCool is not mainstream." According to McLean County Times, he referred to GenderCool as "a radical organization leading the charge to let boys play girls youth and high school sports." 

"For the moment decency and common sense have been restored at State Farm as the company has backed away from partnering with this extreme organization," Baley said. "Moving forward, I encourage State Farm and the other Illinois companies financing this insanity to quit the ‘woke’ cult for their employees’ sake and adhere to the values have served these companies well for many years.”