LGBT Diversity

Ian Johnson, Out Now
October 4, 2007

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TOPICS: LGBT diversity. Gay workplace diversity. Gay and lesbian diversity at work. GLBT workplace diversity. GLBT diversity news. Equality and diversity policy. LGBT workplace issues. Gay and lesbian equality. Gay and lesbian staff diversity. Gay workplace diversity news. Workplace diversity policies in US gay market increases.

Latest results from Human Rights Campaign HRC equality group in the US show more companies than ever are understanding the need to implement effective LGBT diversity and equality policies in the workplace.

The prospect of an ENDA Act -- Employment Non- Discrimination Act -- is at least in part behind this trend. Gay Market News covered the HRC index workplace LGBT diversity findings, and raised concerns about the wisdom of any company being scored a 'perfect' score of 100.

Fox News covers this LGBT diversity issue extensively, and that in itself is perhaps a sign of the changing times. Rupert Murdoch and Fox media properties did not in the past advocate loudly to support the interests of lesbians and gay men. Of course Murdoch understands the power of a dollar and pink dollars are just as valuable as dollars in any color.

Whatever the Fox media motivations, the communications angle of this extract from Fox News on the importance of LGBT workplace diversity is quite interesting:

Unprecedented Growth in Employer Policies for Gay and Transgender Workers
U.S. Businesses are Prepared for Employment Non-Discrimination Act

WASHINGTON -- The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released the sixth annual Corporate Equality Index showing an unprecedented 195 major U.S. businesses earned the top rating of 100 percent, up from 138 last year - a 41 percent increase.

The Index rates employers on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. The 195 businesses that met all of the criteria employ more than 8.3 million workers. When the Index was first released in 2002 only 13 companies, employing 690,000 workers, received the top rating.

"Yahoo! is proud to be part of HRC's Corporate Equality Index and to be in the company of a pioneering group that has stepped up to create a more inclusive work environment for today's diverse employee groups," said Cammie Dunaway, chief marketing officer and executive sponsor of the LGBT employee group at Yahoo!.

"We're committed to making Yahoo! a great place to work and remain focused on offering progressive employment policies and benefits while recruiting the best talent from all backgrounds. We value our tens of millions of LGBT consumers around the world and are always looking for ways to further connect them to the information, passions, and communities that matter most to them, on our Yahoo! LGBT Pride site and across our network."

The movement in corporate America toward equality in the workplace has prompted a coalition of corporations and civil rights groups to form the Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness aimed at leveling the playing field by enacting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

ENDA - which is scheduled to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives later this month - would ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

"In the next few weeks, Congress will vote on federal legislation that U.S. employers have already overwhelmingly embraced," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "It's the right thing to do for our economy and for our country."

Today, at least 282 cities and towns, and 19 states, across the country have added workplace protections that protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation in both public and private sector jobs. More than 93 local jurisdictions, and 11 states, have laws that include protections based on gender identity.

-- Among the 57 companies that have newly achieved a perfect score of 100 percent are: Allstate Insurance Co., Electronic Arts Inc., Esurance Inc., J.C. Penney Co. Inc., KeyCorp, Macy's Inc., Marriott International Inc., Mastercard Inc., Waste Management Inc. and Yahoo! Inc.

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Out Now Consulting has 15 years experience in working in all facets of gay and lesbian marketing, including understanding LGBT workplace diversity issues and how they affect companies targeting the LGBT market. To get expert GLBT marketing communications, research and marketing strategy insight, with access to the leading expert gay and lesbian target marketing advice, lesbian and gay marketing expert input, all from the leading gay and lesbian community marketing experts: contact Out Now.
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