Company Statements

Gilead Celebrates Transgender Awareness Week

During Transgender Awareness Week, Gilead celebrates the achievements and resilience of transgender and gender non-conforming people, including our transgender employees and community partners.

Transgender individuals may be at high risk for HIV, in part because of the stigma, violence, marginalization and exclusion they face around the world. Transgender women are particularly vulnerable; current estimates of transgender women living with HIV/AIDS are around 22%. For transgender women of color, the rate of HIV infection is estimated to be greater than 50%.

In addition to developing therapies and educational programs for people living with – or at risk for – HIV, Gilead recently created a national Transgender Council dedicated to transgender and gender non-conforming advocacy. The Council comprises nine community advocates from across the United States and is a key component of Gilead’s effort to increase health equity in the transgender community. The Council is developing strategies to remove barriers to healthcare and begin to reduce the health disparities among transgender and gender non-conforming communities.

Gilead also supports the inspiring work of many groups around the world, such as Casa Ruby, a bilingual, multicultural LGBT organization that provides life-saving services for some of these most vulnerable members of the LGBT community. Funding for Casa Ruby’s Mariposa Program helps clients access medical care. Learn more about Casa Ruby’s founder, Ruby Corado, and one of her clients, Giselle Hartzog, by watching the video above.

Gilead is grateful to creative, passionate leaders such as Ruby and the members of our Transgender Council, who dedicate their lives to the well-being of these vibrant communities.